


Conventionality Belongs To Yesterday

by slythatheart



Category: Glee, Grease (1978)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 21:02:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/931058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slythatheart/pseuds/slythatheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grease rewrite, with a twist. Recast with Glee characters and told from the perspective of Rizzo and Kenickie (aka Sebastian "Bassy" Smythe and Dave Karofsky). Written because the image of Dave Karofsky in a T-Birds outfit with greased hair and a cigarette behind his ear <i>haunts</i> me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We're Gonna Rule The School

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I should warn you that this is about 85% self-indulgent crap. Over a year ago I was hit with the mental image of Dave Karofsky with greaser hair and a cigarette behind one ear, clad in tight blue jeans and a T-Birds jacket. Also, a skin tight black shirt because _those arms_. This led to an image of Sebastian in a Pink Ladies jacket and it all devolved from there. The title is a line from the movie's theme song, which seemed appropriate because even though this is set in 1959 like the movie, there are homosexual relationships that aren't huge secrets...so it's a little unconventional in that regard considering the time period.
> 
> Anyway, I thought this up literally months before Glee did Grease, but I desperately wanted to write it – with a twist, because let's face it, Rizzo and Kenickie are a much more interesting couple. I just didn't have the energy and motivation. When I eventually started it, I had a _lot_ of fun casting each member (also, a lot of fun imagining Sebastian singing "Sandra Dee" about Kurt).
> 
> I'm posting this because I'm almost completely sure I'll only finish it if I feel guilted into it by having it as a WIP and it fits in Smythofsky Week 2013 (Day 7 – Crossovers).
> 
> The characters may seem a bit OOC, but that's because I'm trying to make each person a little of their Grease character, and a little of their Glee character. There'll be a glossary at the bottom of any chapter with 50s slang that may be hard to interpret.
> 
>  
> 
> **Cast List**
> 
>  
> 
>  _Pink Hotties  
> _ Sebastian Smythe... _as Betty Rizzo  
> _ Kurt Hummel... _as Sandy Olsen  
> _ Rachel Berry... _as Frenchy  
> _ Sugar Motta... _as Marty  
> _ Tina Cohen-Chang... _as Jan_ __  
>  _T-Birds  
> _ Dave Karofsky... _as Kenickie  
> _ Blaine Anderson... _as Danny Zuko  
> _ Finn Hudson... _as Doody  
> _ Noah Puckerman... _as Sonny  
> _ Mike Chang... _as Putzie_ __  
>  _Others  
> _ Sue Sylvester... _i_ _s Principal McGee  
> _ Becky... _as Blanche  
> _ Will Schuester... _as Mrs. Murdock  
> _ Artie Abrams... _as Eugene Felnick  
> _ Quinn Fabray... _as Patty Simcox  
> _ Coach Beiste... _as Coach Calhoun  
> _ Sam Evans... _as Tom Chisum  
> _ Brittany S. Pierce... _as Cha Cha DiGregorio  
> _ Santana Lopez... _as Leo The Scorpion  
> _ Mercedes Jones... _as Vi The Waitress  
> _ Rory... _as Teen Angel  
> _ Jesse St James... _as Vince Fontaine  
> _ Emma Pillsbury... _as Mr. Rudie_ __  
> 

Dave took a long pull of his cigarette. It was the first day back at school – what a drag. The only good thing about it was that it got him away from his crazy mother and meant he could spend time with his friends.

And Bassy. Except that he didn't even really know what was going on there. Sure, they'd gotten hot and heavy over the summer, but they hadn't talked about what would happen once classes started back, and Bas was his best friend's ex… _something_.

Not that he thought Blaine would care.

A bunch of people passed him too closely, so he slapped a pile of books out of a nerd's arms and blew a lung full of smoke at him.

"Karofsky! Over here, Karofsky!" He could hear the other T-Birds, but couldn't see them.

"Hey, where you at?" he called out, glancing around. Out of the corner of his eye he saw rushed movement and he turned, spotting Puck, Mike and Finn.

Finn jumped at him. "We're right here!" he laughed.

"Where were you all summer?" Mike asked. He sounded upset that Dave hadn't been around.

"What are you, my mother?"

"I was just askin'," he pouted and Dave rolled his eyes.

He'd spent his days earning some cash for a car, and his nights messing around with Bassy. But he really had to find out what Bassy wanted before that was something he admitted. "I was workin', which is more than any of you's kids could say."

" _Workin'?_ " And that was why Dave was about to get a car, but Puck was going to be begging for rides instead of driving his own.

"That's right, I was luggin' boxes at Bargain City, moron."

Puck snickered. " _Nice job!_ "

"Eat me," Dave countered. "I'm saving up to get me some wheels."

"Yeah?" Mike was excited, but that was nothing unusual. "You wanna hear what I did?"

_Another lie? No._

"No."

Mike spent most of his time putting on some act, like he wasn't the next Fred Astaire. He probably got down all through the summer but Dave knew he'd never admit it. He and Blaine only knew because they'd seen Mike practicing one day, but they never told him. Dancing wasn't really the right look for a greaser, so they kept it on the quiet, but that boy was good.

Finn bounced up and down. Not for the first time Dave wondered if he was really T-Bird material. He was kind of an odd ball. "Hey, there's Blaine!" Finn cried out, pointing.

Dave turned just in time to see his best friend, Blaine Anderson, look back at them over a leather covered shoulder. He had a smoke dangling between his lips and was grinning. The other T-Birds were calling out to him and Dave joined them – he hadn't seen Blaine for weeks.

He watched as Blaine sauntered toward them. Blaine threw a hand out to catch Puck in the balls, then ignored Finn and Mike to shake Dave's hand. Dave smacked him eagerly on the arm. "How you doing, huh?"

The others started fighting for Blaine's attention and Dave laughed.

"Good to see you," Blaine grinned as they headed onto the grass, away from the flood of students heading into the building.

"Hey, uh, you see any new babes over there?" Dave asked. If Blaine was chasing some new tail it'd be easy to tell him about Bas, and Blaine had been chatting to someone right near the entrance – prime position to look for someone new.

Blaine shook his head. "Nah, just the same old chicks and dicks everybody's playing with."

Dave wasn't surprised. Aside from freshmen – who were usually too uptight to move past first base, anyway – McKinley didn't usually get a lot of new meat. Dave didn't really care this year, unlike the few years before.

"Hey, so, what did you do all summer, Blaine, huh?" Finn asked.

"I was hanging around down the beach, you know," he replied. Then, more suggestively, " _You know!_ "

Puck chimed in, eagerly. "I know what you mean…it's tough with all those babes hanging around you."

Dave snorted. Puck talked a big game, but it had been all talk for a while. The guy had been eyeing up Sugar Motta and the T-Birds all knew it.

"Yeah," Mike chimed in, "well the only thing that hangs around you, Puckerman, are the flies."

"Yeah, right here Mike, huh!" he retorted. He looked like he was going to start up a tough guy bit, so Dave cut in.

He grabbed Blaine's attention. "Hey, how was the action at the beach?"

"Ooh. It was flippin'." Blaine had that look on his face – the one that meant he had stories to tell.

"Ooh. Crazy?"

Blaine nodded with a smirk. "I did uh, I did meet this one guy." His smirk softened into a real smile. Dave glanced at the other T-Birds, but he was the only one who noticed. They all saw Blaine as the fearless leader, the cool cat, but Dave knew him better than that. "He was uh, he was sorta cool, you know."

"You mean he puts out?" Puck could be such a sleaze ball, but he was sort of funny, too. It wasn't even like he was interested in guys; he just always wanted to hear the dirty details. Dave was pretty sure Sugar wasn't even giving him the time of day, so maybe that was why.

"Oh come on, Puck," Blaine said, "is that _all_ you ever think about?"

"Freakin' A!"

The first bell rang. Dave wasn't in any rush to get inside, but he didn't want detention for hanging around outside on the first day, either. He caught Blaine's eye, who shook his head and pointed at Puck. "This one!"

Dave knew exactly what Blaine meant. Puck was a total perve, but he was mostly harmless and just mouthy. Dave rolled his eyes along with Blaine and they headed inside, leaving Puck and the others behind.

"Hey, guys! Wait up."

* * *

Sebastian eased the car into an empty spot. He was out of the door almost before the engine was off, sunglasses on and jacket in hand. Tina climbed out of the passenger side, snickering at nothing, while Sugar gracefully emerged from the back seat.

He sighed, pulling off his sunglasses and looking over the students rushing into the same old building. "Well, here we are again."

"Yeah," Sugar agreed, "but this time we're _seniors_ …"

"…and we're gonna _rule the school_!" Sebastian finished with a smirk.

Tina was nibbling on something, like always. She started giggling around her food then tried to shove the whole thing in her mouth. Sebastian laughed at her as Sugar reached behind him to slap her on the arm.

"Tina, that is _so_ adolescent."

"We _are_ adolescents!"

Tina had a point, but Sebastian wasn't about to admit that. He was _not_ going to look like a dumb kid next to Sugar. She was his best friend and all, but she was the only child in an extremely wealthy family – _even wealthier than Sebastian's_ – and she could be a snotty brat when she was in the mood to be.

"We don't have to flaunt it," he shot at Tina. He slid on his sunglasses and draped his Pink Hotties jacket over his shoulders. Once upon a time the jackets had been for the Pink Ladies, but then Sebastian joined and he was _certainly_ no lady. "Okay, girls. Let's go get 'em."

* * *

The final bell rang. Within seconds the flood of noisy students in the corridor disappeared into classrooms and the hallway was silent.

Dave was leaning against a locker next to Blaine, playing with his pocketknife. Finn, Puck and Mike were looking over their class schedules. His schedule was…somewhere. Probably in his pocket. He could find it later, after homeroom.

"Geez," Puck complained as they began to wander down the hall, "every teacher I got this year's flunked me at least once!"

Dave rolled his eyes; that wasn't much of a surprise. If Puck cared so much he should probably go to class sometimes. Dave, on the other hand, didn't care much at all beyond graduating. And shop class. He'd have a car this year; he needed to know how to make her purr.

"If you don't watch it, you're gonna be spending all your time in Sylvester's office," Finn commented, running a comb through his hair.

"Yeah? Well this year she's gonna wish she'd never seen me."

_Yeah, right._

"Oh yeah?" Finn sniggered. "And what are you going to do?"

"I just ain't gonna take any of her crap, that's all. I don't take no crap from nobody."

Dave was stopped by Finn, who had his arms out, warningly. Puck kept strutting as though he owned the joint, right past a corner where Principal Sylvester stepped out behind him. Dave grinned. This was going to be hilarious. He slipped his shades back on and tried not to attract Sylvester's attention.

"Noah," Principal Sylvester called out.

Dave leaned against the wall behind Sylvester with the other T-Birds, trying to look innocent.

"Hello ma'am." Puck sounded surprised. Dave glanced back over his shoulder to see that he had spun around and plastered a fake smile on his face. Dave threw a smirk at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be in homeroom, right now?"

"I was just going for a walk."

"You were just _dawdling_ , weren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That is no way to start a new semester, Mr. Puckerman." Principal Sylvester turned to leave, and Puck started muttering under his breath. What a hot head – even Dave could hear him and Sylvester was much closer than Dave was.

Principal Sylvester turned back, clearly unimpressed. "Perhaps a session of banging erasers after school would put you on the right track?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Are you just going to stand there all day?"

"Uh, no, ma'am." Puck blinked, as though remembering that the T-Birds were watching. "I mean, yes, ma'am. I mean—I'm just um—"

Dave watched, amused, as Puck floundered until Principal Sylvester cut him off. _Idiot._

"Well, which is it," she demanded, "yes or no?"

Puck's shoulders slumped. "No, ma'am."

"Good. Then _move_."

"Yes, ma'am."

Once she left, Dave watched Blaine amble over to Puck and lean in towards him. "I'm sure glad you didn't take any of her crap, Puck. You would've really told her off, huh?"

Dave shook his head, laughing, as Finn started mimicking the conversation. " _Mr. Puckerman! Yes, ma'am! No, ma'am!_ "

He started to head up the stairs, a few feet behind Blaine. Artie Abrams, the school's biggest nerd, was on his way down. Puck, obviously looking to shift the attention, called out, "Hey, Artie! How you doing?"

Blaine and Dave weren't interested in messing with him, but the other T-Birds were.

"Hi, fellas!" Didn't Artie ever learn? He was always friendly, even though he probably shouldn't be. Dave felt kind of sorry for the guy, but he wasn't about to step in for a dweeb. He was one of the coolest guys in school – and the top dogs didn't protect the runts.

Puck, Finn and Mike started tormenting Artie, giving him a buzz-shake, ruffling his hair, knocking off his glasses. Blaine kept walking, but Dave watched until he thought it was going a bit too far.

He tried to sound impatient instead of like he wanted to defend Artie. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

Sebastian was shuffling a deck of cards. Their teacher wasn't there, hadn't bothered to show up at all, actually. Sebastian wasn't even sure what class they were in. Tina was sitting next to him and Sugar was wandering around the room when the announcement system crackled. Music started playing and Becky, Principal Sylvester's assistant, struck a few notes on her xylophone to let them know there was going to be an announcement. As if the music didn't already do that.

He sighed, still shuffling his cards as Tina watched, bored, and Finn and Puck flipped through magazines opposite him.

" _Good morning, boys and girls, and welcome to what we are sure will be our greatest year at McKinley. Saturday night will be our first Pep Rally and bonfire…"_

* * *

"… _and I want to see all of you students out there with plenty of support for Coach Bieste and the McKinley Titans. If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter."_

Dave smothered a snort as he snuck as quietly as he could towards Quinn Fabray's bag. She was talking to some guy next to her and hadn't noticed him.

If he was stuck in Biology, Dave was going to make it interesting. He carefully placed the rat he was holding into her handbag and rushed back to his seat, snickering with Blaine and Mike.

Fabray was annoying as hell, anyway, and her friendliness was totally fake.

" _And now for the really good news, and probably one of the most exciting things to ever happen at McKinley High…"_

* * *

"… _The National Bandstand television show has selected McKinley as a representative American high school and will do a live broadcast from our very own gym."_

Well that was…different. It could even be interesting, Sebastian considered. Maybe he could convince Karofsky to clean up a bit for one night. That boy rocked the T-Bird jacket, but he'd be pretty hot in a suit, too.

Finn and Puck were cheering. Sugar was slightly more subdued, clapping as she leaned against a desk. Sebastian didn't react outwardly, but he was grinning on the inside.

" _This is our chance to show the entire nation what fine, bright, clean-cut…"_

* * *

"… _wholesome students we have here at McKinley."_

Dave watched as Quinn reached into her bag. Blaine was next to him and was already leaning forward eagerly.

When Quinn pulled out the rat and screamed, Dave, Blaine and Mike broke out into laughter. She threw the rat high up in the air and rushed out of the room, squealing. Dave threw a ball of paper at her as she bolted through the door then turned back to the boys, play-punching with Blaine as the three of them kept laughing.

Maybe this year would be fun, after all.


	2. He Looks Too Pure To Be Pink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue has been changed for obvious reasons, but I've tried to keep it as close as possible. By the way, if anyone knows the meaning of "gumdrops" in the context used in the movie, please let me know so I can add it to the bottom – Google has failed me (or I have failed with Google).

Sebastian was winding through the lunch tables, food on his tray and Sugar following behind him. They looked cool and he knew it. He ignored the glances shot their way and continued to sing with Sugar and swing his hips.

Tina was already seated and inhaling her lunch. There was a half-eaten apple slowly browning on the table; knowing Tina it was probably hers.

Sebastian arrived at the table just in time for him and Sugar to finish singing, " _Ba-ba-bam-bada-bam-bada-bam-ba-ba!_ "

They laughed as they sat down, Sebastian at the head of the table. He hadn't even gotten his jacket off his shoulders before Tina got chatty.

"Hey…did you guys get a look at Anderson this morning?" she asked, looking over at Sebastian as if he should be interested. He wasn't. "Looking pretty good this year, _huh, Bas_?"

Tina was making a stupid face, flipping her sunglasses at Sebastian and grinning as he rolled his eyes. It was true, of course, but Sebastian's interest in Blaine Anderson was in the past.

"That's ancient history," he snapped, fixing his shirt collar and focusing on his lunch.

"Well, history sometimes repeats itself."

He brushed off Sugar's flippant comment with a mocking noise in her direction. Sebastian had actually _liked_ Blaine, but it hadn't lasted. And yeah, sometimes he still wanted to see if he could get under Blaine's skin, but that was mostly pride. Besides, he'd had a lot more fun with Karofsky over the summer than he'd _ever_ had with Anderson, so.

History would _not_ be repeating itself.

"Hey, you guys," came Rachel's voice over Sebastian's shoulder.

"Hi, Rachel," Sugar smiled.

"Hi, Frenchy," Tina said around a mouthful of food as she waved.

A boy with perfectly coiffed hair looked confused at the nickname, blinking over at Rachel, who just grinned and nodded him towards the table. "Go on, sit down."

"Rach," Sebastian greeted, hiding his curiosity by starting his lunch.

"This here is, uh, Kurt Hummel," she said as she sat down beside Kurt then started introducing the Hotties to him. "And, uh, that's Tina and Sugar, and this is Bassy." She turned to Sebastian as she put down her tray. "He just moved here from Sydney, Australia."

"Mmm. How are things down under?" he asked. No one else seemed to catch his double entendre, least of all the wide-eyed boy he was speaking to.

"Oh, fine, thanks."

Sebastian smirked and kept eating. This kid wasn't just innocent, he was downright _naïve_. And heall but screamed blushing twink. He was on the path to getting eaten alive at McKinley.

"Hey, Sugar," Rachel gushed, "are those new glasses?"

"Oh, yeah, just got 'em for school." Sugar looked over the frames and batted her eyelashes. "Don't you think they make me look smarter?"

Sebastian scoffed as he stretched. Sugar didn't need to look smarter; she just needed to act it. "Nah. You can still see your face."

He glanced up and caught a disapproving glance from Hummel. The guy was going to be a total drag, Sebastian could already tell.

Tina smiled. "How do you like school so far, Kurt?"

"It's different," he replied in a soft, effeminate tone. Sebastian was just about to comment on Kurt's voice, when an even more annoying one echoed across the courtyard.

"Hi, kids!"

"Ugh," Sebastian, Rachel and Sugar all chorused while Tina made a face.

"Quinn Fabray," he clarified when Kurt looked lost, "the bad seed of McKinley Hi—" he broke off as Quinn arrived at the table, "—hi!"

Sebastian hated Quinn and her uptight, holier-than-thou attitude. She was full of herself, and the biggest fraud he'd ever met. She plastered on the perfect-little-princess routine and people bought it. It wasn't common knowledge, but Quinn had seen more backseats than Sebastian had, and he'd be the first to admit he'd seen more than his fair share.

The little schemer had even spent the end of last year fluttering her eyelashes at Anderson, and everyone knew he was all about the dick with _very_ few exceptions. In fact, the only girl Blaine had ever kissed was Rachel, and only because he was drunk and wanted to make sure he wasn't bi.

"Oh, I just love the first day of school! Don't you?"

"It's the biggest thrill of my life," Sebastian deadpanned.

She didn't take the hint.

"Oh, you'd never guess what's happened!"

_Go away._

"Probably not," he replied.

Sebastian grinned over at Sugar, who was ignoring Quinn as best she could.

"They just announced the nominees for student council and _guess_ who's up for vice-president?"

He looked up at Quinn, who was beaming down excitedly.

" _Who?!"_ Sebastian asked in his most sarcastic tone.

"Me!" Quinn answered happily, as though Sebastian had been genuinely interested. He threw an overdramatic and clearly fake gasp at her. He'd hoped she'd get sick of his attitude and take the hint, but she was on a roll and was apparently no getting rid of her. "Isn't it the most, to say the least?"

"The _very_ least."

"I just hope I don't make too poor a showing," she spoke conspiratorially, like she was confiding in a close friend instead of trying to show off to people she considered beneath her. The only reason Quinn even bothered with the Hotties, Sebastian knew, was that other students thought that they were cool and would follow their lead.

Sebastian saw an opportunity for a closing and tried to take it. "Well, we certainly wish you the best of luck, don't we girls?" he urged.

The Hotties jumped on his comment, agreeing loudly. Sugar stood up to offer her hand in luck and Quinn took to opportunity to shove a mini-flyer at her. She placed one on the table in front of Sebastian and he looked at it, amused. "Oh," he commented, tearing it in half while Rachel used hers to dab at her mouth.

Quinn seemed to be finally finishing up her little campaign run when she spotted Kurt. "Oh, you must think I'm a terrible clod for not introducing myself to your friend."

Sebastian saw the moment when she decided to sit, and kicked Rachel under the table. Rachel picked up the well bitten apple from the table and dropped it subtly where Quinn was about to plant herself. She had shuffled everyone down until Tina, at the end, had to stand or fall off the bench.

"Hi," Quinn said to Kurt. It was obvious to Sebastian that she was scouting for more sheep to join her little flock. "I'm Quinn Fabray. Welcome to McKinl—oh!"

She flew up from the seat, pulling the apple from it in mortification. The Hotties all laughed as Quinn tried to save face with a fake smile and Tina grabbed the apple from her with a smirk. Kurt wasn't laughing.

 _No surprise there_.

"Well, I hope you'll be at cheerleader tryouts," Quinn said to Kurt, leaning towards him. He was smiling at her enthusiasm, which just reinforced Sebastian's opinion of him. "We'll have so much fun and get to be lifelong friends!"

If he had to hear much more, Sebastian was going to hurl. Oh well – Quinn Fabray getting her mitts into one more oblivious follower was not his problem. He took a long sip from his drink as Rachel coaxed the Hotties into a little group around him.

"You guys," she whispered, watching the interaction between Kurt and Quinn, "how do you like Kurt, huh? Do you think we could let him into the Pink Hotties?"

Sebastian studied Kurt. If Rachel was suggesting that, maybe he was missing something. He took in the scene in front of him; Kurt was all sunny smiles, looking over Quinn's notebook without a hint of irritation. _Nope._

"He looks too pure to be Pink," he commented.

"Oh, double doo-doo!" Sugar cried out, suddenly.

" _Please!_ " Sebastian replied ironically, gesturing towards Quinn and Kurt as if they might be offended.

"What's up, doc?" Tina asked as she crunched a bite of the apple she was still holding.

"One of my diamonds just fell in the macaroni!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes. He loved Sugar, but sometimes she was just too much.

* * *

"Hey, uh, Karofsky, you want a piece of salami?"

Dave was lounging on the bleachers, up against the side rail. He glanced up at Puck who was standing near him, waving a slice of salami that he'd pulled out of his sandwich.

"Are you kidding? If I eat that, I'll smell like you," Dave joked.

"What a stink!" Mike snickered, but he went quiet when Puck glared at him.

Blaine sat up from where he'd been sprawled and pointed over at the field. "Hey, guys. Guys, look."

He stood up to get a better view, and Dave turned to see. A bunch of jocks were training, which was an absolute joke. The Titans hadn't won a single game in years.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dave announced, loud enough for the team to hear, "dingle-berries on parade!"

The T-Birds all laughed when one of the jocks dropped his helmet and stepped right into it as he jogged. _What a loser._

"Hey, look!" Finn cried out, pointing and laughing, "You really put your foot into it this time, Evans!"

Mike poked his head through the rails. "Yeah, try hopscotch, you hot dog!"

"Oh, what a goof! Gumdrops, man." Puck shook his head in amusement as he climbed further up the bleachers to sit near Blaine. Finn followed.

"Hey. Any of you guys see that new cat in registration? Oh, he sure beats some of the flat ass around here."

"You mean his ass was perkier than Annette's?" Puck asked.

"Nobody's ass is perkier than Annette's." Dave pulled the smoke from behind his ear and lit it as Finn and Puck laughed.

"Right!" he snorted.

"Hey, guys," Finn pointed over to a pair of girls several yards away. Dave sat up and saw Mike lying on a step below them, peeking up their skirts. "Hey!" Finn called out. When the girls looked over he gestured at Mike and they gasped.

They grabbed their lunch trays and rushed off as Mike waved. "Hi, girls!"

"You're a sick man, Mike!" Finn walked over, spraying Mike in the face with a water gun. Dave was a few feet behind him, ready to break up a scuffle if he had to.

"Hey! Hey, ugh!"

Finn laughed and turned back to the group. "Hey, I want to hear about what Blaine did at the beach."

"Yeah!" Dave and Puck both agreed. Dave took a swig from his can and sat near Blaine. The others quickly surrounded them.

"Nah! It was nothing," Blaine said, but it was obvious to Dave he was lying.

"Sure," he answered sarcastically. "Nothing, Anderson. Right." He wouldn't normally push, but he had a feeling that Blaine really liked this guy. He probably wanted an excuse to talk about him.

"C'mon, Blaine. You got in his drawers, right?" Mike prodded and Puck grinned. Puck's filthy mind was slowly rubbing off on Mike, obviously.

"Yeah, come on, come on. Tell us about that guy."

* * *

"What did you do this summer, Kurt?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, I spent most of it at the beach. I met a boy there."

 _Ugh_. Sebastian started playing with his fingernails. He wasn't going to think about the boy he spent most of _his_ summer with, not until he knew what was happening between them. He wasn't going to let himself get played again, like he had with Anderson.

"You hauled your cookies all the way to the beach for some guy?" That was just stupid, in Sebastian's opinion.

"Well, he was sorta special," Kurt answered.

"There ain't no such thing," he scoffed. Sebastian tried to ignore the tiny voice inside him that told him he was just bitter.

"He was _really_ romantic," Kurt explained to Quinn, wistfully.

_Yeah, right._

* * *

Dave and Finn were trying to convince Blaine to spill. He wanted to, Dave knew, but he was holding back for some reason.

"Come on, you don't want to hear all the horny details!" Blaine tried, but Puck glared at him.

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

"Alright," he laughed when everyone started to gang up on him and Finn threatened him with the water gun. "I'll tell you!"

While the rest of the T-Birds sat enthralled by Blaine's story, Dave was hearing more than what Blaine actually said. He laughed and joked with the others, making lewd gestures and comments, but he didn't miss the way Blaine's eyes softened when he mentioned the boy he'd spent his summer with, and the fun that they'd had. He must have really been into this guy.

He thought about his own summer, about the time he'd spent with Bas. Bassy was snarky, independent and sarcastic. Dave didn't know how to approach him half the time without starting some kind of argument.

Everything was a battle with Bassy. Dave wondered what it said about him that he kind of liked that.

"Did he put up a fight?" he asked Blaine. And yeah, he was thinking more about Bassy than Blaine's mystery boy, but he was curious.

Blaine didn't answer; he just laughed and told them more. When he started talking about how far they went together, his words sounded fake to Dave. That was strange. Blaine had never been the type to need to pretend, before.

At some point, Dave needed to get his best friend alone and make sure he was all cool without the other T-Birds around.

* * *

The girls were gossiping with Kurt. Sebastian wanted to tune it out, but it was impossible. They were all too high-pitched, too excited and fascinated.

Kurt was gushing about how cute this boy was and how much fun they had. He didn't mention anything that sounded vaguely interesting to Sebastian; the whole thing sounded like a play date rather than a hot summer affair. He rolled his eyes when Rachel asked if it was love at first sight.

_As if._

The other Hotties were rabid for details, even Sugar, who usually tried to act cool. It was appalling – what were they? Eight year olds? Sebastian stretched along the bench. Quinn was in his way, so he shoved her off with his foot, sending both Quinn and Kurt careening towards a trash can.

_Oops._

Eventually, when the girls were begging to hear more, Sebastian had to tack on, "Coz he sounds like a drag."

And he _did._ Sebastian would take some hot action over hand holding and lemonade any day.

When Kurt finished up by telling the Hotties that he and Mr. Just-Turned-Eighteen made a vow of true love, Sebastian rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. If Kurt was that gullible, then he deserved what he got. He'd learn eventually.

On their way back to class the girls dawdled behind with Kurt. Sebastian moved ahead, jacket in hand, hoping to avoid any more gushing. On the other hand Quinn had disappeared earlier, so the day was definitely looking up.

"He sounds real nice," Tina was saying behind him and Sebastian snorted.

"True love and he didn't lay a hand on you?" he threw back over his shoulder. "Sounds like a creep to me."

Sex wasn't _all_ Sebastian wanted in life, but he certainly didn't have time to waste on guys who didn't know how to make him moan.

"Well, he wasn't," Kurt chided. "He was a gentleman."

He was a wuss, more like.

"Hey, what was his name?"

When Kurt answered Rachel, he said the _very_ last name Sebastian expected to hear. "Blaine. Blaine Anderson."

Sebastian spun around quickly. He was floored. Tina and Sugar giggled for a moment, but they shut up when he gathered his wits and smacked at them behind Kurt's back.

Oh…this was _too_ funny. Mr. Manners was _Blaine_? It looked like Kurt was going to learn life wasn't a fairy tale even quicker than Sebastian had assumed.

"Well," he interjected sharply, glaring his friends into silence. Kurt was looking at the girls, puzzled by their reaction, and he pulled Kurt's attention toward him, "I think he sounds peachy keen. And, well, maybe if you believe in miracles, Prince Charming will show up again someday." He was smiling, all teeth and sparkle, but Kurt didn't seem to see the mischief in it. " _Somewhere unexpected_. See you later." He breezed past Kurt. "Come on, girls."

Kurt was left with Rachel when Sugar and Tina followed two steps behind Sebastian, giggling once more. He could hear Kurt asking Rachel if she thought it was possible, and Rachel's reluctant agreement followed by an awkward, "Uh, Kurt, I think we ought to get to class."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Glossary**  
>  Dingle-berries: _lumps of (usually dried) faeces stuck in the hair near the anus.  
> _ Cat: _a hip person_ __  
> 


	3. We've Got A Surprise For Ya

"Hey, man, wait up!" Dave watched Blaine glance back and stop walking with a grin. He was almost out of the school gates, and none of the other T-Birds were in sight. If Dave was going to check in on him, he probably wouldn't get a better opportunity for a while.

"What's up, Karofsky? Missin' me already?"

Dave laughed and shook his head at Blaine's smug attitude. "Cut the bullcrap, Anderson, I can smell it a mile away. You've been acting weird all day, talk to me."

Blaine frowned. He looked like he was three seconds from brushing Dave off. "What're you—"

"Who do you think you're talking to, huh? Come on, man, just coz you can fool the other guys, don't mean I'm buyin' it."

They stared at each other for several moments, Blaine was almost glaring but Dave refused to back down. Finally, Blaine caved. "Fine. Just…not here, alright?"

"Lead the way."

* * *

"So, you gonna interrogate me, or what?"

Dave was sitting on the floor in Blaine's bedroom; legs sprawled in front of him while his back was against the wall. Blaine was on the bed, hands folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. He looked like he was relaxing, but Dave was pretty sure Blaine was just avoiding looking him in the eye.

"There's no one else here, Ands. You don't gotta be a hardass on my account."

Blaine snorted but didn't say anything, so Dave spoke again. "How long have we known each other, huh? I know you don't wanna look soft in front of the other guys, but you're my best friend. You were there for me when my mother started treating me like shit, and I was there with some ice when your dad punched you for kissing a boy in fifth grade. You can talk to me, man."

"I know. It's just—it's stupid."

"It's about the guy from the beach, right?"

Maybe he shouldn't have been so blunt, judging from the way Blaine sat up abruptly, but Dave knew when Blaine was going to keep hedging and he was getting tired of it. Blaine was staring at him, and Dave could almost hear the sharp denial on his lips, but then his shoulders sank and he exhaled loudly. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yeah, totally. See how all the T-Birds won't shut up about it?" Dave gestured around the otherwise empty room with an eye roll.

"Right. So you're just a know-it-all then? Maybe you and Fabray should start a club."

"Maybe you're askin' for a knuckle sandwich."

Blaine was grinning, but he'd also pulled his knees up to rest his arms on them. It might have looked casual if Dave didn't know him better, but instead Blaine looked more defensive than Dave had seen him in a while.

It took a while before Blaine spoke, but when he did he looked distant. "He was just—he was really something. You know?"

"I…" Dave's voice caught in his throat, but he hoped Blaine hadn't noticed. "Yeah, man. I know."

And he did, because that was exactly how he felt about Bassy.

"I really liked him. He was different. I could've…it could've been serious with him." Blaine dropped his head into his hands for a minute, then straightened back up and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I mean, what difference does it make? I'll never see him again, his family lives in _Australia_."

"I'm sorry, man." Dave wished he had better words, but he didn't. He felt uneasiness in his stomach that wouldn't settle, thinking about how Blaine must feel. It was bad enough for Dave just not knowing whether he and Bassy were going to still be something now school had started back up, but he couldn't imagine how much worse it would be if he didn't think he'd even _see_ Bassy again. He couldn't put himself in Blaine's shoes, he wasn't sure he'd be dealing with it half as well as Blaine was.

"It doesn't matter," Blaine repeated. "There's nothing anyone can do about it. It sucks, but that's life, yeah?"

Judging by the look on his face, Blaine had had enough of that particular conversation, so Dave smirked. "Yeah, man. So quit mopin' and help me plan ways to make the school bonfire less boring."

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh? You make me pour my heart out then you change the subject?"

Dave was startled. "What? I didn't think you wanted to—"

"Not me, dumbass. You. You've been driftin' in and out of heart eyes all day, so don't go acting like you don't got stuff to share. Come on, man. Best friends, remember?"

He wasn't trying to avoid telling Blaine, not at all. He'd actually been planning ways to tell him all freaking day, but Dave wasn't sure this was the best time, not after Blaine had pretty much admitted, though not in so many words, to being heartbroken. Dave didn't want to make it worse on his friend. He was pretty sure Blaine wouldn't care that Dave was into Bassy, but it seemed unfair to talk about whatever was happening – or not happening, Dave wasn't sure – after the conversation they had just had.

"Man, we're here to talk about _you_ , not—"

"Yeah, and we did that. Your turn."

Blaine looked determined; he wasn't going to let it go. Dave sighed, focusing on the carpet and picking at it in favor of looking at Blaine, who was suddenly intent upon staring at Dave now that Blaine wasn't the one making confessions.

"I…okay. Yeah. There's someone."

"You mean Bassy."

It wasn't a question, and Dave was startled. "You…how did you know that?" Blaine was looking amused, like he'd made Dave choke on his own words deliberately. Dave was an idiot. If he could tell when something was up with Blaine, why had he expected that Blaine couldn't do the same for him? "Okay, yes. Bassy. He and I…well…I don't know. It's something, maybe? Or maybe not. We, uh, spent a lot of time together over the summer."

Blaine was watching him, head tilted to the side, and Dave bit the inside of his cheek so he wouldn't keep talking. He didn't know what else to say, but he felt awkward enough that he might try.

"You're really gone on him, huh?" Blaine didn't sound upset, just curious.

Dave really wasn't sure how to answer that, but he figured that if Blaine could be honest about his feelings, he deserved honesty from Dave, too.

"I am," he said, clearing his throat. "But, man…it doesn't even matter how much, if you wanna red light it. Coz if you don't want me startin' something serious with him, it ain't gonna happen."

"Geez, Karofsky, what am I, the worst friend in history? You think I'm the kind of asshole to not want you to be happy, now?"

"What? No! It's just…I know you guys were a thing—"

"For about _two minutes_. And I wasn't really that into him, you know? The reason I ditched him was because I figured out that you _were_."

"Wait, seriously? You could, uh, tell?" Discomfort washed over Dave. He hadn't thought he'd been so obvious about liking his best friend's boyfriend; he'd tried to ignore it completely at the time.

"Not at first, but yeah. He's all yours. You don't gotta worry about me, get it? I just kinda wish you'd said something _before_ I went there. If I knew then me and Bassy wouldn't have happened at all."

Dave shrugged. He hadn't even really realized it himself until the jealousy he'd felt at seeing Bassy and Blaine together had started to twist in his gut.

"I didn't know. Not until you guys were sort of talkin'. I didn't want to cramp your style, man."

Blaine grinned at him. He still looked a little sad, at least to Dave, but he looked better than he had earlier and that had to count for something.

* * *

It was ridiculous, Sebastian thought, that even though their football team was an utter _disaster_ , people still cheered and supported them as though they were national champs.

He only ever showed up to these things because Principal Sylvester noticed the one time he _hadn't_ and had given him hell for weeks over it.

Also, in his experience, school bonfires were a great place to get lucky.

Sebastian was leaning on his car, Rachel practicing some new manicure technique she'd heard about on his hand, while the other girls were sitting around behind him, amusing themselves. He watched as the marching band led in the cheerleaders, who – unsurprisingly – sucked.

Rachel was moving along with the cheer, wiggling her hips and shimmying her chest, probably because Kurt was out there.

His cartwheel could use some work. He looked dazed afterwards, although he seemed to manage the splits without damaging his goods, so Sebastian supposed he wasn't a complete failure.

" _And now...quiet, please. Quiet, everyone..."_

Sebastian tuned out once Principal Sylvester started to speak into the microphone. Instead, he glanced around. It was too dark to see the T-Birds, but Sebastian knew they'd be there, probably hanging out in the same spot they usually did.

Coach Beiste started talking; somehow managing to rile up the students. Sebastian wasn't really paying attention to exactly what she was saying, he was too busy being amused by the way Becky was violently dramatizing the coach's speech on the stage beside Principal Sylvester.

Tonight would have more entertainment than past bonfires, without a doubt. Sebastian had every intention of pushing Kurt and Blaine together and seeing what came of it. He figured it could go two ways; either Blaine would act like the gentleman Kurt had described, embarrassing himself in front of the other T-Birds (which Sebastian thought would be ideal considering how he'd embarrassed Sebastian in front of them last semester), or he would be a jerk and Kurt would learn a valuable lesson.

Sebastian would put money on the second one, which was probably a little sad, but it would be an eventful night, one way or the other.

Besides, Sebastian hadn't seen Karofsky beyond a few glimpses in the halls since school started back up. It was about time he figured out what was going on; whether they had just been some summer fun or if it was more than that. Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone and get an answer.

Not that he cared if Karofsky had just been messing around with him.

He didn't.

He just wanted to _know_.

And if he cared a little – he _didn't_ , but _if_ he did – well, that was no one else's business.

Sebastian huffed derisively when Beiste finished up her speech and the crowd erupted. The cheerleaders started a second run and Sebastian wondered how everyone could still hold out hope after seven years of straight losses. When would they figure out that blind optimism just led to disappointment?

* * *

Dave drove toward the T-Birds slowly in his just-bought car. Yeah, she needed a bit of work and he knew the guys would give him hell for it, but he didn't care. At least he had some wheels. Besides, it wouldn't take much to make her the hottest rag top around.

He peered at the group through the dark as he got closer. It looked like Finn and Mike were grabbing at Puck as he shook around like an idiot. Dave honestly didn't even want to know. He spotted Blaine leaning on a car on their other side. He said something and they settled down as Dave got closer.

"Hey, watch out, Pinhead!" Finn cried out as Dave coasted to a stop right beside them.

Blaine wandered over, looking the car up and down, amusement all over his face.

Dave sat back, stretching in a way he hoped looked relaxed, in the driver's seat. "So, uh, what do you think?"

"What a hunk of junk," Blaine laughed. The others snickered and Dave reached out, smacking Finn who was closest.

He knew what the car looked like, but he also knew there was potential in her. Blaine might joke now, but he'd back Dave up when he needed it.

"Wait 'til I give it a paint job and soup up the engine, man. She's gonna run like a champ." He paused, giving Blaine a serious look as he lit a cigarette. "I'm racing her at Thunder Road."

" _Thunder Road?_ " Finn asked in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Dave bristled. "You wanna make somethin' of it?"

Finn snorted. "Uh-huh. I wanna see you make something of this _heap_."

Dave glared menacingly, pulling Finn in by the collar until he was wide-eyed and pressed against the side of the car. "You're cruisin' for a bruisin'."

Headlights flashed to the left and Dave looked over just as Puck climbed up onto the bonnet of his car and spoke. "Hey…what are Satan and her gang doing here? This ain't their turf."

Santana Lopez and her Scorpion assholes were puttering by slowly in their flame-painted rod, making sure the T-Birds knew they were there.

"Think they wanna rumble?" Dave asked no one in particular, flicking his switchblade. If Lopez and her goons were looking for trouble, he'd be happy to help them out.

"Yeah, well if they do," Blaine answered as he joined Puck on Dave's car, "we're gonna be ready for 'em."

Santana flipped them the bird as she drove off. The Scorpions were nothing but a bunch of actors, anyway; all bluster, no muster. And who did that fream in the back seat think he was kidding with those threads? He looked like a leather reject from one of those bathhouses Dave had heard about.

The Scorpions might think they were cool cats just because they ruled Thunder Road, but once Dave got his baby fixed up he'd show them.

* * *

Kurt was headed in their direction when the Pep Rally finally ended and Sebastian leaned over to speak softly in Rachel's ear. "We should hook up Kurt and Blaine tonight."

"You think so?" Rachel replied, looking uncertain.

"Yeah, definitely. You heard what Kurt said. They exchanged a vow of _love_. Who are we to stand in the way?"

Rachel's eyes lit up. She was such a sucker for a love story, sometimes.

A few yards away Kurt squealed. "Hey, what you _doing_?" A pair of idiots had come to grope at him and Rachel chased them away. "Aw, thanks, Rachel."

"It's alright. You know something? You were really great out there."

That was an exaggeration, as far as Sebastian was concerned. He hopped off the car and headed over, stopping near Kurt. The girls were right behind him.

"No, I really messed up. I was so nervous."

"Oh, no!" Rachel argued. "Your split was _devoom_."

"Hi Kurt," Bassy cut in.

Kurt turned to face them, a friendly smile on his face. "Oh, hi Bas. Hi, girls."

Sebastian took a deep breath. _Now or never._ And it was definitely better now than out of nowhere at school one day.

He was doing Kurt a favor, really. If this worked out the way Sebastian expected, then at least Kurt wouldn't be embarrassed in front of the entire school. And he'd have the weekend to pull himself together.

Kurt didn't even have to thank him for it.

"We've got a surprise for ya," he told Kurt, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.

"A surprise? What is it?" Kurt asked, sounding uncertain. Sebastian dropped Kurt's hand but he continued to follow.

Some part of Sebastian – a tiny little seedling he hadn't even realized existed – hoped Blaine would come through for Kurt. Not that Sebastian believed that would happen, but it would almost be a shame to be right about something so crappy.

"You'll see! Right, Bas?" Tina giggled.

Sebastian could hear Rachel start fussing over Kurt immediately. "Let me comb your hair down a little bit, here."

"Where are we _going_?"

"Want me to fix your collar?"

If Blaine could find it in himself to be a decent guy, maybe there was still hope for the rest of them. And maybe Sebastian would find a Mr. Right one day, too.

_Nah_.

* * *

Dave was slumped across the front of his car. The T-Birds were hanging around him, but all he really wanted to do was talk to Bas. He hadn't had the chance all week.

Blaine was checking out the car. He'd been doubtful at first, but Dave knew he'd come around.

"You know," Blaine said, turning to look at Dave, "if we fix up this car, it could be make-out city. You know that?"

Dave nodded with a smirk. He knew. That was part of why he picked it in the first place.

"Right!" Puck agreed excitedly. "A chick is gonna have to put out before she even gets in!"

"You better believe it, Puck!" Dave laughed. Not that he was interested in chicks, but the idea was the same. And if whatever-it-was-they-were-doing didn't end up going anywhere with Bassy, Dave wouldn't have problems picking up, not in a hot car.

Puck was making a really knowing face. Sometimes Dave couldn't believe how much of a womanizer he acted like, not that Dave had room to talk when it came to his past with guys. Sugar would barely give Puck the time of day and maybe that's why he talked about random chicks so much. Because even though no one said it, all the T-Birds knew how interested in Sugar he was.

Again, not that Dave had room to talk. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but he was pretty hung up Bassy. Okay, yeah, it might be nothing. And if that's what Bas said, he'd play it cool. He wasn't going to be some loser chasing after a guy who didn't want him.

But it'd hurt. And he'd probably do exactly what Puck was doing, if he were honest.

"Hey Anderson!" That was Bassy's voice. Dave glanced up to see Bassy with a smirk on his face, the rest of the Pink Hotties in tow. He looked hot as ever – those dark denim pedal pushers really hugged his thighs and ass. Damn. "I got a surprise for ya."

"Oh, yeah?" Blaine scoffed, pushing off the car to take a step forward.

"Yeah." Bassy was chuckling. Just then Tina pushed forward a really sweet-faced looking dude in a cheerleader's outfit. It was the guy he saw at registration the other day; decent looking, _great_ ass, but too squeaky-clean by a mile.

Dave would have probably ignored him if it weren't for the way Blaine reacted.

"Kurt?!"

_Oh, shit._ That was Kurt?

" _Blaine?_ "

Well. That probably explained how weird Blaine had been when he was talking about his summer. This guy was nothing like Dave had pictured. He'd pictured someone more like them…or more like the Hotties. Not Mr. American Sweetheart over there.

"What are you – what are you doing here? I-I thought you were going back to Australia!"

This was incredible. Things like this just didn't _happen_.

Even though Dave didn't know him, he could tell Kurt looked happy. Really happy. And so did Blaine. Dave wanted to be happy _for_ them. Blaine deserved this, but it was a _bad_ idea. Yeah, no one really cared that Blaine and Dave liked guys instead of chicks, but that was because they were the coolest and toughest guys around. That would change if Blaine started being all cock-struck by someone like Mr. Judy Garland over there.

"We had a change of plan!"

If Dave had learned anything from his mother, it was that there were still people out there who would make your life hell for being what they thought was "unnatural". He needed to remind Blaine of who he was supposed to be before it went too far.

"I can't..." Blaine was so excited, Dave hated to do it. He stepped up behind Blaine and looked around at the other T-Birds, who did the same. He cleared his throat and Blaine stiffened, glancing at his friends and starting again. "Uh…that's cool, baby. I mean you know how it is – rockin' and rollin' and what-not!"

"Blaine?" Kurt looked confused. Dave didn't blame him. He suspected part of the reason Blaine liked this guy was that he'd been able to be _himself_ around him; _actual_ Blaine, rather than _T-Bird_ Blaine.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Blaine joked. He wished he couldn't, but Dave could hear the strain in his best friend's voice.

He didn't know how he could feel terrible _and_ relieved, but there it was.

"What's the _matter_ with you?"

"What's the matter with _me_ , baby? What's the matter with _you_?"

Dave glanced at Bassy, who was eyeing him keenly. There was no way Dave was mistaking that look. Apparently they weren't just a summer thing after all. He winked at Bassy, whose grin twisted just that little bit further. Oh no, they weren't done by a long shot.

And unlike this pretty-little-prince Blaine had gone nuts for, Bassy was just as cool as they were; he wasn't going to make people laugh at Dave or decide he was a _fairy_.

"What happened to the Blaine Anderson I met at the beach?" Kurt was beginning to sound shaken and desperate. Dave felt bad for the guy – _he did_ – but he was too open; he was going to get trampled at McKinley if he didn't wise up.

"I do _not_ know," Blaine drawled, "I mean, maybe, uh, maybe there's two of us, right?" He paused and shrugged as the T-Birds snickered behind him. "Why don't you take out a missing-persons ad or try the yellow pages? I don't know."

"You're a fake and a phony and I wish I'd never laid eyes on you!"

Kurt was in tears as he threw his pom-poms to the ground and ran off. Dave still wasn't sure if he was the best friend in the world, or the worst one, but he couldn't let Blaine put his reputation on the line like that. Most people were cool, but there were still crazies out there. If you weren't above them you were fair game.

"Whoa!" Puck and Finn were being their usual selves, somewhere between surprised and mocking at Kurt's outburst.

"I wonder if he carries silver bullets," Dave shot coolly, though he placed a calming hand on the small of Blaine's back subtly. He hoped Blaine understood what he was trying to say.

Out of the corner of his eye Dave saw Bassy leave, Tina and Sugar following. He'd have to catch up with Bas later – Blaine needed him for now.

Finn laughed. "Yeah!"

"Whoa! So, he laid his eyes on you, huh, Anderson?" It was Mike, that time, and Dave wondered if he'd have to step in and say a word to the guy before he turned into mini-Puck.

"Hey," Puck nudged Dave as Blaine started pacing, "I bet that's not all he's laid on him."

"Yeah, right!" Finn cackled.

Blaine was walking slowly, shoulders too low. If you knew what to look for – and Dave _did_ – then he looked _devastated._ He knew the other T-Birds would be able to tell something was wrong eventually. Dave had to do something to cheer Blaine up.

"Hey, Ands, I got a car, _remember_?"

"Come on, Blaine," Finn called out and Blaine turned to follow them, expressionless.

"Alright," Dave started, knowing it would take more than a drive to make Blaine feel better, "who's got beer money?"

"I swiped my brother's I.D." Finn offered.

"I got two-fifty," Puck grinned.

Dave jumped in the car, and the guys followed. For the moment, he was going to make Blaine have fun. Later – when they weren't surrounded by idiots – he could be sympathetic and let his best friend pour his heart out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Glossary**  
>  Actor: _a show-off  
> _ Cat: _a hip person  
> _ Fream: _a person who doesn't fit in  
> _ Rag top: _a convertible car_ __  
> 


	4. Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes Makes Me Wanna Barf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue has been changed for obvious reasons, but I've tried to keep it as close as possible. Also, this is the first, and possibly only time, that I'm incorporating one of the Grease songs with the characters actually singing.

Sebastian was sprawled across Rachel's bed on his stomach, Sugar beside him. The others were all dressed for bed. Sugar and Rachel were in short nightgowns with their hair pinned in complicated ways – in preparation for the next day, they'd explained to him once. Tina was in a baggy sweatshirt and Kurt was in some very proper (and very covering) pajamas. Sebastian, on the other hand, had shed his pants but kept his underwear and shirt on. He could easily sleep like that, and they rarely slept on these "sleepovers" anyway. He slept naked at home; it would be stupid to buy sleeping clothes just for these random visits. Plus, the look on Kurt's face when he'd dropped his pants and comfortably walked around in his underwear had been something to savor.

"Hey, look, it's Tina!" Sugar pointed at the commercial that had just started on the television. Tina jumped in front of it and started mimicking Bucky Beaver, playing along.

"Brusha, brusha, brusha! Get the new Ipana…" she continued to sing as she mimicked brushing her teeth with a ridiculous grin. Sebastian couldn't help sniggering as Sugar moved her chest in time with the corny jingle. The best thing about these girls, in his opinion, was that when they were comfortable, they could make fun of themselves and joke around.

None of them took themselves too seriously when they weren't in public.

About halfway through the ad, Sebastian glanced over at Sugar. They each lobbed a plushy at Tina while she wasn't listening, hitting her square in the face and she collapsed backwards with an exaggerated cry as everyone giggled.

"Turn it off!" Sugar complained as Tina threw a stuffed tiger back at Sebastian.

"Hey!" It hit him on the head as he laughed. He turned to Rachel, hand out. "Hey, hand me a ciggy butt."

"Ooh, me too!"

Rachel handed the case to Sebastian then turned to Kurt. "Hey, you want one, Kurt?"

"No thanks, I don't smoke."

_Gee, what a surprise._

Sebastian wasn't shocked in the slightest, but apparently Sugar was. "You _don't_?"

"Go ahead, try it. It won't kill ya," Sebastian encouraged and gestured for Rachel to pass hers along. "Give her a break." He smirked when Kurt took a puff and coughed roughly. What a square. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. You shouldn't inhale unless you're used to it."

Sugar giggled beside him as he put his own smoke between his lips, ready to light it.

"Hey, Kurt, let me teach you how to French inhale. It's really cool – watch." Rachel took a drag of her cigarette, letting the smoke from it curl out of the side of her mouth as Sebastian screwed his nose up. She looked like an idiot. He actually found himself agreeing with the horrified look on Kurt's face.

" _God_ ," Tina joked, "that is the _ugliest_ lookin' thing I ever saw."

"Nah, the guys really go for it," Rachel smiled at Kurt, who smiled back. For someone so innocent he was strangely endeared by almost anything Rachel said – no matter how ridiculous. "And that's how I got my nickname; Frenchy."

"Sure it is!" Sebastian cackled. He bent over to grab the bottle he'd smuggled in and Rachel swatted him on his ass with a noise of protest that was ruined when she grinned.

"Okay, okay," he laughed, "how about a little Sneaky Pete to get the party going?"

The girls cheered and Sebastian handed the bottle to Tina. Rachel leaped over the bed to shut her bedroom door while Kurt looked on with an uncertain smile.

"Italian Swiss Colony?" Tina read. "Wow, it's imported!" Sugar pulled the bottle away from Tina and swallowed a mouthful as Tina dug into a brown paper sack. "Hey, I brought some Twinkies. Anybody want one?"

"Twinkies and wine. Oh, that's real class, Tina," Sugar teased, winking at Sebastian when Tina grabbed the bottle and pointed at the label.

"It says right here, it is a _dessert wine_."

Tina moved to hand the bottle back to Sugar, ignoring Kurt completely. Sebastian grabbed a magazine he'd been flipping through earlier and used it to smack Tina on the back of the head.

"Hey! Kurt didn't get any wine."

"Oh," Kurt replied softly with that same innocent smile that prickled at Sebastian, "that's okay."

"Bet you never had a drink before, either," he challenged.

"Oh yes I did. I had some champagne at my cousin's wedding once."

If Kurt hadn't looked completely serious as he responded, Sebastian probably would have thought he was making fun of himself. Except that he clearly wasn't.

"Oh!" Sebastian snarked. "Ring-a-ding-ding!"

 _This_ was the guy Rachel wanted to bring into the Pink Hotties? A guy who had never smoked a cigarette; who dressed primly and immaculately; who thought a glass of champagne at a wedding was a walk on the wild side?

Sebastian was trying, he really was, but he couldn't get Kurt to loosen up. The guy was tragic; about three steps and five years away from being the perfect little house-husband. All he needed was an apron, some pearls, and the perfect roast dinner recipe.

_You can't save everyone._

Tina had made her way over to Kurt. She was perched on the edge of the bed, wine bottle offered to Kurt who was glancing at it suspiciously.

"What's wrong?" she asked, holding the bottle right in Kurt's face. "We don't got cooties."

Just as Kurt took the most awkward looking mouthful Sebastian had ever seen – and he didn't even make the immediate blowjob comments that popped into his head because he was a _good person_ – Rachel appeared at Kurt's side, with that look Sebastian had learned meant _run_.

"Hey, Kurt, would you like me to pierce your ears for you?"

Kurt almost choked on the wine, and Sebastian, Tina and Sugar tried to sound ominous. "Dun-da-dun…"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Daaaaa!" they shot back, laughing.

Sebastian was really glad Rachel had never got it into her head to try to pierce _his_ ears. But then again, Kurt was kind of a pushover, and Rachel – for all her sweetness and positivity – zeroed in on weakness like a shark. A shark moonlighting as a beautician.

"Isn't that awfully dangerous?" Kurt asked. He didn't sound _nearly_ firm enough for Rachel to accept that as a no.

 _Amateur_.

"Oh no, I know what I'm doing," Rachel claimed as soothingly as she could. Sebastian had to smother his snort. "I'm going to be a beautician, you know."

"What's the matter?" he threw in, eager to see if Kurt would cave. "Are you afraid?"

"No, I'm not!"

That sounded defensive. Maybe Kurt was more interesting than he seemed. Not too bright, though.

Sugar held out something shiny. "Here Rachel, you can use my virgin pin."

"Yeah," Tina patted Sugar on the back. "It's nice to know it's good for somethin'!"

"Perfect," Rachel replied, sticking the pin in her mouth – _gross_ – then wiping it on her nightgown.

"Oh, Rachel. I really don't think it's a good idea," Kurt was sounding desperate, but still couldn't just say _no_. The boy needed to grow a pair.

"Oh, well, it's okay." Rachel wasn't even listening. She'd already decided, obviously.

"My father won't like it. I promise you, he doesn't—"

"You won't even—"

"Ow!" Kurt cried out, eyes wide.

"Oh! Uh, Kurt, why don't we go into the bathroom?" Rachel suggested, pulling Kurt by the wrist. "My dads will kill me if I get blood all over the carpet."

" _What?_ "

Rachel turned back to face Kurt as she opened the bathroom door. "Oh…it only bleeds for a second."

"Rachel, I don't feel very well."

Sebastian shouldn't – he knew he shouldn't – but he couldn't help himself. "Don't worry about it, Kurt. If she screws up she can always fix your scarf so your ears don't show."

Kurt let himself get dragged into the bathroom and Sebastian shook his head. Some people needed to learn to stand up for themselves.

"Kurt, Kurt," he could hear, muffled, through the bathroom door, "beauty is pain."

The scream that followed was less muffled.

Barely a second later, Rachel stuck her head out of the bathroom. "Would you please get me some ice to numb his earlobes?"

"Why don't you just let the cold water run and stick his ear under the faucet?" Sugar suggested indifferently.

"Oh!" Rachel sounded agreeable as she shut the door tight. It was the dumbest suggestion Sebastian had heard in a while, but he couldn't be bothered going downstairs so he kept his mouth shut.

Sugar dug into her bag and pulled out something bright red. "Personally, I'm getting rather chilly."

She put the short robe on with a dramatic pose, flashing an intricately embroidered dragon at them. Sebastian couldn't pull his eyes away.

"Oh yay! What's that?" he asked. The fabric was soft and silky – it was gorgeous.

"From Bobby in Korea," Sugar told them, fanning herself with fluttering lashes.

"Are you going with a _Korean_?"

Sugar smacked Tina on the head. "No, dummy. He's a marine."

"A marine?!" Tina and Sebastian both squealed. He didn't usually act so insipid but _Jesus_ …a _marine_? Those guys were worth screeching over.

" _Yes_!" Sugar shrieked, excitedly. "You wanna see a picture?"

Sugar handed Sebastian a set of wallet photo sleeves – it rolled open to show at least ten photos, all of different guys.

"God, you're turning into a one-woman U.S.O.!" he said, glancing over them all.

The bathroom door opened and Rachel came out, looking sheepish. "Hey, you guys, Kurt's sick. I just did one ear. He saw the blood and bleurgh!"

Tina shook her head, eyes widened at Rachel. "You ain't getting your hands on _my_ ears."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll be sorry," Rachel retorted, "coz I have been accepted to La Coiffure Beauty School."

"You mean you're dropping out of McKinley?"

"I don't look at it as dropping out. I look at it as a very strategic career move."

"Hey," Sebastian interrupted their chatter to show Sugar one of the pictures, "why's it torn in half?"

Sugar tugged the strip of photos out of Sebastian's hands and rolled her eyes. "His old girlfriend was in the picture."

 _Fair enough_.

"Uh, Kurt?" Rachel was back by the bathroom door, knocking. "Here's your toothbrush."

The door cracked open, just as Sebastian noticed Kurt's scarf draped on Rachel's dresser. "Oh, thanks, Rachel. I'm sorry to be so much trouble."

He grabbed the scarf, tying it on primly as Rachel sighed and quietly whispered to Kurt as the bathroom door clicked shut once more.

Kurt was – he was the Sandra Dee of McKinley High. Perfect and sweet and just too proper for words. It was disgusting.

"Oh. Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes makes me wanna barf!" Sebastian smirked, turning on some music. He was in the mood to _sing_.

He turned to the girls, playing with Kurt's scarf and batting his eyelashes. " _Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee…lousy with virginity_. W _on't go to bed, 'til I'm legally wed – I can't, I'm Sandra Dee!_ "

It was silly, and probably a little petty, but it was _fun_. Besides, a few weeks ago they'd sung a random number on Rachel's desperate need to be Marilyn Monroe's next beauty therapist – it was what they _did_.

He jumped onto Rachel's bed, shoving Tina when she got in his way. "Watch it! _Hey, I'm Doris Day. I was not brought up that way. Won't come across, even Rock Hudson lost his heart to Doris Day._ "

The girls finally joined in, echoing along with his words as Sebastian leaped off the bed, to perch carefully by Rachel's make up table.

" _I don't drink!_ "

"No!" Tina and Sugar cried.

" _I swear._ "

"Ooh!" Rachel looked unsure but she didn't stop them, either.

" _I don't grease my hair_ ," he sang dramatically.

"Ew!"

Tina and Sugar grabbed Rachel, pulling her up to join them on the bed as she finally got into the fun.

" _I get ill from one cigarette_!"

Everyone fake coughed and Sebastian grinned. Mr. Spot, Rachel's huge stuffed panda, fell against Sebastian and he gasped in horror, pushing it away. " _Keep your_ filthy _paws off my silky drawers! Would you pull that crap with Annette?!_ "

Sebastian ran back to the bed just as the girls scattered. He stepped up, posing on the shelved headboard by the posters of Rachel's number one crush. " _As for you Troy Donahue – I know what_ you _wanna do! You've got your crust, I'm no object of lust…_ "

The girls spread their legs vulgarly as Sebastian grabbed his crotch. " _I'm just plain Sandra Dee!_ " they all chorused.

He slid across the headboard, to where Rachel had pinned a picture of Elvis. " _Elvis, Elvis, let me be!_ "

He leaped up from where he'd been sitting to swivel his hips as the Hotties giggled at him. " _Keep that pelvis far from me. Just keep your cool, now you're starting to drool…_ "

Sebastian bounced off the bed, strutting across the room. " _Hey, Fongool! I'm Sandra Dee._ " He wiggled his hips mockingly and sat prissily back at Rachel's make up table as the girls went silent. Sugar gestured at her ear and Sebastian looked over at the bathroom door, where Kurt was standing, looking hurt.

"Are you making fun of me, Bas?"

 _Yes_. To be fair, they did crap like that a lot; mostly to each other. Kurt should probably feel welcomed by it.

He clearly didn't.

"Some people are so touchy," Sebastian muttered as he pulled Kurt's scarf off.

* * *

Blaine needed to talk to Kurt, Dave had decided, away from prying eyes. Blaine clearly wanted to try to fix what had happened earlier, although he looked sort of sick at the thought. Dave wanted his best friend happy – if Blaine and Kurt could find a way to be together _without_ ruining the reputation the T-Birds had built, he was behind them. The other guys had agreed to keep their mouths shut and back Blaine up too, although Dave was pretty sure they still thought Blaine was just chasing some hot tail.

Mike, Finn and Puck were singing – well, drunkenly _trying_ to sing – in the back of Dave's car as he pulled into Rachel's driveway. The Hotties always had sleepovers on bonfire nights; he figured Kurt would probably be with them, if the way Rachel had run after him earlier meant anything.

"Will you shut up, you vultures!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Hey…I-I changed my mind. Let's get out of here."

"Hey, what do you mean?" Puck asked Blaine.

"What do you mean, _what do I mean_?"

* * *

If the T-Birds thought they were being sneaky, they were bigger idiots than Sebastian had thought. They were loud as hell. The girls all ran to the window while Kurt looked puzzled and Sebastian just rolled his eyes at Rachel's shushing.

"Oh! They can't come in here. My dads will flip!"

* * *

"Hey, Mike. Why don't you call him?" Puck suggested.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," Blaine said just as Mike jumped up and propped one foot on the side of the car.

"Oh, Kurt," he cried out dramatically, hand held out, "wherefore art thou, Kurt?"

"Sit down!" Blaine was fuming.

"Sit down!" Dave fisted his hand into Mike's shirt and yanked him back into the seat. "Shut up! Sit down!"

"C'mon, let's go," Blaine tried one more time. He sounded upset.

* * *

While the Hotties and Kurt were peering out the window, Sebastian was wriggling into his pants. For a second he regretted how tight they were – it made putting them on in a rush difficult. But they looked hot, so it was worth it. He was going to have some _fun_.

He rushed over to the window, pulling on his shoes. "You goody-goodies are too much for me. I'm gonna get my kicks while I'm still young enough to get 'em."

Sebastian climbed out of the window and began working his way across the ledge toward the trellis.

"Oh, God!" Rachel squealed. Sebastian wondered briefly how her fathers could possibly not hear her. "What's he gonna do, shimmy down the drainpipe?"

He was edging over the side of the roof ledge when he heard Puck. "Hey, look, there's Bassy!"

"Hey, Bassy, you're doing that without a net!" Sebastian ignored Finn and climbed the rest of the way down, dusted himself off and strutted over to where the guys had jumped out of the car.

"Swell bunch you are, rushing to help a gentleman."

"Gentleman? I don't see a gentleman!"

"Shut up!" Karofsky elbowed Finn who mumbled something else but was otherwise quite. Sebastian smirked; Karofsky was _hot_ when he was aggressive.

Sebastian licked his lips. "What's up, Karofsky?"

"One guess." Karofsky grinned at him then took a drag of his cigarette. The suggestiveness in his tone was crystal clear and Sebastian couldn't help but shoot a quick glance downwards. Those jeans didn't do much to hide anything – not that Sebastian was complaining.

"You got a lot to offer a guy," he replied with a smirk. They obviously weren't keeping whatever it was between them quiet anymore, not if Karofsky was talking like this in front of the other T-Birds.

"Yeah," Karofsky breathed, "you know it."

The way the smoke from Karofsky's breath was hanging in the air made Sebastian want to move in closer, to linger where it drifted and to chase its path backwards to Karofsky's mouth. He thought about it for a split-second, about licking his way past those lips and savoring the beer and cigarette taste he knew he'd find. He thought about it until the haze evaporated and he remembered the others watching.

He glanced away, spotting Blaine still in the car, silent and broody.

"What say, Ands?"

Blaine turned slowly and deliberately, as though he'd rather be anywhere else. "You're looking good, Bas."

Of course he was.

"Eat your heart out."

"Well," Blaine rebutted snidely, "sloppy seconds ain't my style."

 _That son of a bitch_.

Sebastian watched, angrily, as Blaine pulled himself out of the car and started walking down the street. And yeah, it was pretty clear he was upset about what went down with Kurt earlier, but that was his own fault. Sebastian didn't deserve being spoken to like that.

"Where are you going?" he snarked. "To flog your log?"

Blaine spun around. He didn't look angry, just resigned. His shoulders were slumped and Sebastian felt a sliver of pity.

Just a sliver.

"Well, it's better than hangin' around with you dorks."

While the other T-Birds called out to Blaine, Karofsky ignored him to smile slyly at Sebastian. He opened the car door and gestured chivalrously. "Your, uh, chariot, good sir."

Sebastian couldn't help but smile – a _real_ smile. Karofsky was…he was something else.

They were on the way down the street when the car backfired and Karofsky cursed. Finn, Puck and Mike were flung from their post on the back of the car into the backseat, crying out protests, and Sebastian took advantage of the moment to face them.

"Okay…so, what do you guys think this is? A gang bang?"

"You wish!" Puck snickered and Sebastian rolled his eyes. Sebastian wouldn't touch Noah Puckerman with someone _else's_ hands.

"Hey!" Karofsky shouted at them, "Hit the pavement!"

Mike looked shocked. "Hey – you gotta be kiddin'?"

"I said now!"

Sebastian didn't know how they could be surprised. Did they really think he and Karofsky would want them hanging around watching while they got some quality time in the backseat?

"Alright, alright," Finn groaned, getting out of the car with the others, begrudgingly.

"Move it!" Karofsky was getting pissed, but hey, if it got these losers out of their hair Sebastian would be happy to help him relax later.

Finn and Mike were muttering under their breath as Karofsky threw his arm around Sebastian. Sebastian leaned in to enjoy it and Karofsky shifted the car into gear and pulled away.

Behind them, Sebastian could hear Puck complaining. "When a guy picks some ass over his buddies, something's gotta be wrong!"

 _Or right_ , Sebastian thought to himself, smugly, as their voices faded.

* * *

One of the perks of Dave having his own wheels was that he and Bassy could get busy without anyone busting in on them.

They were parked at the lookout, radio buzzing with background noise. They were next to a half dozen other cars, but no one was looking. They were all too interested in getting some of their own.

Bassy was all over him, which he was totally down with, especially since Bassy had just agreed to wear Dave's ring. He was hard in his jeans, could feel that Bassy was the same. They weren't being loud, but they weren't exactly being quiet, either. And fuck, there wasn't enough space in the front seat for where this was headed, so when Bassy arched his back, sliding smoothly over the seats into the backseat, Dave followed a bit more clumsily.

It was getting hot and heavy, mouths desperate and hands roaming. Dave tried to get a grip somewhere on the car, just so he could get a better angle as he pressed Bassy into the seat, while Bassy was biting and licking at him; lips and tongue devouring his mouth and half his face and neck.

"Oh, ooh," he groaned. Bassy's cock was rubbing against Dave's while Dave gripped his firm ass, dragging him closer. "Bassy. Bas. _Bas_."

And Bassy was just as into it, whining and gasping and arching. Dave shuffled lower until he could get his mouth onto Bassy's neck. His legs were bent oddly and cramping, but it was worth it to hear Bassy make those noises, to feel him gripping and clutching at Dave through the leather of his T-Birds jacket.

"Could you call me by my real name?"

"Uh…uh…" Dave could do that. He _could_. He just needed a second, because he wasn't sure he'd ever heard what it actually was. "Oh, uh…"

"Sebastian," Bassy told him, breath uneven. "Sebastian."

"Sebastian," he said, quickly. It tasted good on his tongue, and once he started saying it, he couldn't stop. Not when Sebastian's fingers were squeezing the bulge under his fly until he thought his cock could almost split the zipper. "Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian. _Oh_. Oh, Sebastian. _Sebastian_!"

"Thank you."

And Jesus, Dave didn't need a thank you, he just really needed Sebastian to keep doing what he was doing. Or better, he needed to get those skin tight jeans down Sebastian's hips so Dave could get his mouth on Sebastian's—

"Hey," Sebastian said, suddenly, "you got something?"

Oh, and that was an even better idea. He's stuck some lube under one of the seats the day he picked up the car, and he knew he still had a rubber in his wallet.

He pulled back with a smug grin. "Are you kidding?"

Sebastian chuckled and straightened in the seat, taking a moment to brush his messed up hair back out of his face, while Dave slid his wallet from his pocket and flipped it open. He pulled out the little foil square and held it up. "My twenty-five cent insurance policy."

"Big spender," Sebastian laughed, cupping Dave's face and kissing at his ear, his cheek, his temple. Dave tore open the packet and the rubber split.

Dave's shoulders stiffened and he felt Sebastian lean back to look at him. "What?"

"It broke."

"How could it break?"

He didn't know the answer to that. Weren't these things supposed to last for—? Oh. This was his back up, he hadn't really thought about how long it had been in his wallet. He sighed, shoulders slumping.

"I bought it when I was in the seventh grade," he admitted, scrubbing his hand over his forehead.

"Ohh. Oh." Sebastian sounded as disappointed as Dave was.

When Dave looked back over at him, Sebastian was licking his lips and looking Dave up and down. The night wasn't _over_ , Dave figured, there were a whole range of other things he'd like to do to Sebastian. He was about to suggest one of them when Sebastian grinned and shook his head. "Oh, what the hell," he gasped, pulling Dave in for another kiss.

" _Oh_ ," Dave groaned. Sebastian was burrowing fingers under his waistband, letting them slide across the dripping head of Dave's cock. " _Sebastian_."

There was a loud crunching noise and the car shook, startling them both. Dave sat up abruptly as Sebastian pulled his hand back with a frustrated noise.

"Hey," Dave growled when he saw the leader of the Scorpions in her hot-rod. Lopez had clearly just backed into his car. "What the hell d'you think you're doing?"

"You're parked in a no-parking zone, creep," she said, while her girlfriend snickered in the seat beside her.

Dave stood, poking his head through the tear in his roof that he hadn't quite gotten around to fixing, just yet. "The whole place is a no-parking zone, round heels!"

"Oh, _yeah_?" She sounded pissed. Maybe Dave shouldn't have called her easy, but that bitch just scratched his bumper, he wasn't going to take her bullshit.

" _Yeah_!"

Lopez glared at him and revved her engine. She drove for a few yards and then reversed quickly, hitting his car even harder. One of the tires popped and its hub cap rolled off with a clatter. When she pulled forward, there was a huge dent where she'd hit.

"You're gonna pay for that!"

"Yeah?" she grinned, snidely, as the blonde beside her laughed. "Well, I'll give you seventy-five cents for the whole car, including your twink!"

She was driving off before Dave could do more than throw an empty beer can in her direction, though it fell far short. She was laughing, a sharp sound that was clear even over the noisy burst of flame from her tail pipe. Dave glared after her, while Sebastian fumed beside him.

"What the _fuck_ did she just call me?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Glossary  
> ** Round heels: _a promiscuous woman – ie one who falls onto her back easily_


	5. Why, It Could Be Greased Lightnin'

"Nah, we just gotta bang out the dent. That's all there is to it." Under the light of the school's mechanic workshop and the speculation of the rest of the T-Birds, the car looked a lot worse than Dave was willing to admit. He ignored it in favor of combing his hair and acting confident. Maybe the guys would let it go if he sounded convincing enough.

"The problem isn't in the dent," Finn replied, pushing off the bumper of the car. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and unlike Dave, had actually been paying attention in shop class.

"Where?" he asked, looking around. The other guys watched as Finn made his way to the front of the car. Dave moved as well, in case there was something he needed to see.

"The problem's in this rubber band engine."

Finn was lucky there was a car between them, because Dave wasn't in the mood for his shit. "The problem's in your mouth."

Dave hopped into the car, standing on the seat so he towered over the T-Birds. He was sick of the way they gave him hell for his car. Maybe she wasn't as slick as some of the rockets they'd seen around, but she was his and she'd be amazing. She just needed a little help, was all.

"Yeah?" Mike piped up, looking doubtful as he tapped the hood. "Where are you going to get a new carburetor? Huh?"

"You ever hear of borrowing?" he scoffed. He'd find a way to fix her up, no matter what the guys said. Sure, she looked a little rough, but that didn't matter. If the others would just have his back instead of being jerks, she'd be on Thunder Road in no time.

"Hey, Karofsky. You got any Scotch tape?" Puck laughed. Finn and Mike joined in, but Blaine interrupted.

"Hey, big stuff, what do you drive, huh?"

"I drive," Puck answered, sounding defensive.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Yeah? How about you?"

"Who, me?" Mike squeaked.

"Yeah."

"Well," he shrugged, "what about Finn?"

Finn glared at Mike for putting the spotlight on him "Well... I... I... well... I..."

"That's what I thought," Blaine said as he put his hands on the hood of the car. "Now, come on, guys. Look. Now, this car could be a major piece of machinery. You know that? Now, look at this."

Blaine lifted the hood roughly and Dave cringed. He was grateful to have his best friend on his side, of course, and the enthusiasm was great – or at least it would be if it didn't involve almost tearing the hood off his car.

Dave watched with a grin as Blaine got excited, pulling off his jacket and throwing out ridiculous words that made no sense but sounded good together, to get the T-Birds pumped. And it was working, Dave could tell.

When Blaine started mentioning parts that Dave had heard of, but had no idea what they did, he tried to be encouraging. He could tell that the other guys were getting on board with the idea, but they still looked a bit unsure. "We'll get her ready," he insisted. "I'll kill to get her ready."

By then, Blaine was almost more excited than Dave was. He was grinning and reminding the guys that access to a hotted up car would be great for them, too; that it would be great for their reps at the school _and_ with the ladies. That seemed to flip a switch for Finn, Mike and Puck, because suddenly they were in complete agreement with Blaine's ideas, practically messing their pants when Blaine started talking about French tail lights, fins and a Palomino dashboard.

And Dave could see it perfectly in his head, exactly how Blaine was describing it. He hadn't expected Blaine to remember the dream car he'd talked about last year when he'd first started thinking about it, but apparently he had. Because he was building her with his words until she wasn't just a figment of Dave's imagination – until she was an actual plan that the other T-Birds were completely behind.

She'd be gorgeous. It'd cost a lot, even with the guys working on her instead of taking her to a shop, but he'd find a way.

Even Mr. Schuester, their workshop teacher, was getting excited by the time Blaine had finished his pep talk.

"Come on, guys, let's get to work," Blaine said.

The others chimed in their agreement as Dave watched, with a grin. He should have known that if anyone could get the guys off his back and on his side instead, Blaine would.

His car – Greased Lightning, they were calling it now – was going to be perfect when they were done with her.

* * *

Dave was in front of the Frosty Palace with Blaine when he heard loud shouts and jeers. Lopez and her goons sped past them in her rod, throwing garbage out of the car as she swerved carelessly around the bend. He took a drag of his cigarette, annoyed.

"Hey, Anderson, man. Those Scorpions, they're asking for it."

When he didn't get a reply, Dave looked Blaine up and down. His friend was staring at the pavement, like he didn't care. No, worse, like he didn't have the ability to care.

"Hey. Hey, Blaine, what's up?" he asked, moving closer. "You still thinking about that guy?"

"What, are you nuts?" Blaine countered. His whole demeanor changed, like that was going to fool Dave. But he obviously didn't want to talk about it there and then. Dave could wait.

"I don't know. I was just thinking, you know."

Blaine had a fake smirk on his face, as he playfully shoved Dave at the door.

"Come on, get in there. Don't think so much."

Dave grinned. He'd let it go…for a while. "Oh, that's cool. That's cool."

They were looking for a place to sit, heading toward the steps to the higher tables, when Dave spotted Kurt at a seat with one of the jocks from the football team. Evans, or something. He tried to find a way to distract Blaine, to stop him from noticing, when he Puck called out to them.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey!" Dave answered.

"Hey, Karofsky, Anderson. Come on, sit over here." He and Blaine headed over at Mike's urging, to the booth the other T-Birds had claimed. He and Mike said a quick hello as he slid into the spot facing Kurt, leaving Blaine to sit opposite Dave. He'd hoped Blaine wouldn't see anything, but it was too late. Dave could clearly see Blaine eyeing Kurt and Evans as he moved to sit.

 _Fuck_.

"Okay," Dave said in an attempt to grab Blaine's attention, "the meeting's in session."

"You know what I heard?"

Even Finn's gossiping tone wasn't pulling Blaine's attention away from the couple sitting behind him. Dave started blowing smoke rings as he tried to figure out how to get his friend out of the funk he was in.

"What?" he asked when Finn stared at him, clearly waiting for a response.

"Last year, the fuzz had Thunder Road staked out, and everybody got hauled to the clink."

Dave scoffed. "So? Nobody's going to catch Greased Lightnin'."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he snapped, when he saw Bassy heading toward their booth. No way was he going to let Finn dig at his confidence where Bassy would hear.

"Somebody snaking you, Blaine?" Bassy stopped by their booth and smirked with a toss of his head towards Evans. Dave was a little pissed that Bassy would kick Blaine while he was down, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Bassy's mouth long enough to say anything. Bassy was holding a half-eaten ice cream cone and his lips were wet and shiny. It made it a little difficult for Dave to complain.

"Oh, bite the weenie, Bas."

Bassy's smirk widened and he let his tongue run over his front teeth purposefully.

"With relish," he taunted, locking eyes with Dave as he continued walking. Dave's stomach swooped when Bassy winked down at him, scratching fingers teasingly through Dave's hair for a moment. It made his brain flash back to the night before; Bassy's hands twisted in Dave's hair, tugging as Dave swallowed his cock.

Dave huffed and swatted his ass as Bassy left, then tried to fix his hair casually like he hadn't just been biting back a stupid love-struck grin.

"I don't know about these babes," Blaine muttered, glaring after Bassy. He was obviously bothered by Bassy's comments, even though it wasn't anything unusual. Bassy was a flirter and a fighter, usually at the same time. Blaine normally wouldn't let it get to him, especially since Bassy wasn't really into him anymore, but Dave knew Blaine was feeling more sensitive with Kurt on the scene. Maybe he should ask Bassy to lay off Blaine for a while.

"Yeah!" Dave agreed, a little self-consciously. He had pulled up his collar to hide the flush on his neck, and was still trying to ignore the way his body felt after Bassy had touched him. "They're only good for one thing!" he added as his cheeks warmed and he tried not to focus too heavily on how good that one particular thing was with Bassy.

Puck leaned on Blaine's shoulder. "Then, what are you supposed to do with them for the other twenty-three hours and forty-five minutes of the day?" He laughed loudly, while Mike looked curious.

"Is that all it takes, fifteen minutes?"

Dave and the other T-Birds gave Mike hell, though it didn't escape his notice that Blaine wasn't paying any attention.

When he saw Kurt get up from his table and head down the stairs, Dave propped his legs up on the seat across the walkway from him, hoping it would be enough to make Kurt walk the long way around, out of Blaine's sight, since he'd finally stopped looking over his shoulder. It wasn't.

Dave groaned internally as Kurt approached, dropping his legs when Kurt was right in front of them, as Finn wolf whistled. Blaine was staring at Kurt's back and Dave sighed. This was not going well.

"I'll be right back," Blaine said. He got up and sauntered around the back of the booth, in the opposite direction to Kurt, as if that were fooling anyone. Dave pretended not to notice; instead he started talking to the other guys, focusing their attention until none of them cared where Blaine went. Dave might think this whole thing between Blaine and Kurt was a recipe for disaster, but Blaine always had Dave's back, and Dave would be damned if he couldn't offer the same.

* * *

Dave licked his already melting ice cream cone. He didn't really know why he'd even bought it, aside from the fact that Bassy had had one, and Dave just…couldn't resist. He didn't even _like_ vanilla.

Of course, he was pretty sure he didn't look half as good eating one as Bas did, especially since he couldn't stop it running over his fingers. He also thought there was a good chance he had some on his nose.

Blaine was staring at him, either because he looked ridiculous or because he wanted to make sure Dave wouldn't drip ice cream on the interior of his car. Normally, Dave would have thrown the cone away and tried to not look like a mess, but they were alone and he figured that if Blaine was distracted by his impression of a four year old, he probably wasn't wallowing over Kurt.

They'd only left the diner a few minutes earlier, while the other T-Birds argued about who had the best chance to get lucky with one of the Hotties in the next few days. Normally they'd have driven off straight away, but Blaine hadn't made a move to start the car; he'd just alternated between watching Dave and glaring at his dashboard.

"What? I got somethin' on my face or somethin'?" Dave joked. He dragged his messy fingers across his cheek, deliberately smearing more ice cream across his skin. "Did I get it?"

Blaine snorted, throwing a napkin at him. "You're a dork."

Dave shrugged. "Yeah, but I made ya grin, so."

That earned him an eye roll. After a second, Blaine leaned over and snatched the ice cream cone, throwing it out of the car.

"Hey!" he protested, half-heartedly.

"You don't even like vanilla. And you been nursin' that thing so long it's almost out of diapers."

He shrugged again. "Bassy looked like he was enjoying his."

"Bassy looked like he was _going_ _down_ on his."

"Yeah," he grinned. Blaine rolled his eyes again, but he looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Christ, Karofsky. If you suck dick the same way you were eating that ice cream cone, you need serious lessons."

"Oh, yeah?" he challenged.

" _Yeah_."

They spent a few moments play wrestling, throwing light punches and putting each other in headlocks. Eventually, the gearshift dug painfully into Dave's side and he slipped, hitting a little too hard and winding Blaine.

He coughed out an apology, gripping his side and chuckling. Blaine clutched his stomach and leaned back in his seat, huffing out small laughs as he stared up at the sky and tried to catch his breath.

Eventually, Blaine turned to him. "You hit like a girl."

"You must be hungry, Anderson," he answered, casually.

"And why's that?"

"Coz you keep beggin' for a knuckle sandwich."

Blaine laughed again and Dave grinned. He folded his arms behind his head, content to relax for a little longer until Blaine was ready to drive. They'd left the diner earlier than usual, and Dave didn't have anywhere else to be for a while anyway.

"Hey, d'you think I'm better than those jocks?" Blaine asked after a few minutes. It sounded casual, almost like it hadn't been playing on his mind since the diner, but Dave wasn't an idiot.

"What kind of a stupid question is that? Course you are."

"But I mean…like…sports."

Dave frowned, glancing over at Blaine. "What do you mean?"

"Just…nevermind."

"Anderson, seriously. I ain't afraid to punch ya right in the mouth."

He glared until Blaine sat back in his seat and stared through the windshield as though he had to focus on the road, even though they were still parked. The keys weren't even in the ignition.

"I'm just wonderin'. You know. If I decided to maybe join a team. Or somethin'."

"What team?"

"Does it matter?"

Dave shook his head. "Just if you want a real answer. How the fuck do I know if you'd be better if you can't tell me what you want to know if you'll be better at?"

Blaine stared at him, frowning. "I don't even know what you just said. But…I just think maybe I'll try. I dunno what, yet. Thought I might ask Coach Beiste what she thinks."

"For Kurt, you mean."

"Maybe that's the kind of guy he likes." Blaine looked sullen as he shrugged.

"Maybe if he's worth your time, he'll like you as you are."

Blaine snorted again. "You sound like Dear Abby."

"She's a smart lady."

"Yeah, well. I never said I was smart. And I'm definitely no lady."

* * *

"Hey, hey wait. Can we talk for a sec?"

Sebastian pulled back and braced his weight on his hands so he could see Dave's face clearly. He licked his lips and raised an eyebrow. "I must be doing something wrong."

"Why?" Dave looked confused, which Sebastian would only privately admit was sort of adorable.

"Because I'm on top of you, but you want to _talk_ ," he joked, leaning back in for another kiss. Dave's hands pressed firmly into his lower back, encouraging him. Sebastian rolled his hips, enjoying the friction and the way Dave swallowed his groan. He was reaching between them to undo Dave's fly when Dave moved his hands to Sebastian's bare chest and pushed him gently.

"No, no. I'm serious. We need to talk."

Sebastian tensed and rolled over to land on his back beside Dave – and when had he even started thinking of him as Dave instead of Karofsky, anyway? It was like putting on Dave's ring had changed how his brain worked and now he was regretting it. He hated the way his stomach was suddenly twisting itself in knots, so he did his best to ignore it and huffed, instead. "Fine. Let me guess," he dropped his voice lower to mimic Dave's as he continued, "it's not you, it's me—"

"What? No! I'm not trying to—why would you think that?"

When Sebastian turned his head to look at Dave, he didn't see any dishonesty. Dave had moved onto his side so he was facing Sebastian, his head propped up on one arm. He was frowning, his eyebrows drawn together in worry.

"Well, let me see. My parents are out. We are alone, on my bed. We're both shirtless; hell, my pants are halfway down the _stairs._ I was basically humping you and trying to get you as naked as possible, but you wanted to _talk_. Jesus, Karofsky, don't you even know what ' _we need to talk_ ' means? What the fuck else would we need to talk about?"

"Blaine," Dave said quickly. He looked horrified. "We need to talk about Blaine! I don't want to break up!"

"Blaine? You want to talk about Anderson? While I'm trying to _have sex with you_?"

"Well yeah."

"Should I be worried?" Sebastian only half-joked. He knew Dave and Blaine were just friends, but he still didn't like the idea that Dave was focusing on someone else when Sebastian was practically naked and throwing himself at him.

Dave's eyes met Sebastian's, and he must have seen the irritation there, because he backtracked quickly. "I mean, that's not—that's not _why_ I want to talk about him. I just…I want to talk _first_ ," he explained as his lips curled into a grin, and he adopted a more playful tone, "ya know, before you make me forget. Dunno if you noticed, but I don't think so great around you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Sebastian scoffed as he sat up and rolled his eyes. It was a good cover for the way his heart was racing, because he wasn't going to admit that Dave could sucker him in so easily. "So, you gonna say something? Or am I gonna get myself off while your tongue's tied?"

Dave sighed. "It's just, what you said to him, earlier—"

"If you're gonna get frosty about it, don't bother," Sebastian snapped. Of course it was about that. Sebastian was used to guys getting pissed that he flirted. Normally he didn't care what they thought, they were just a little fun and he ignored them while they complained, but he thought Dave was different. They weren't exactly strangers; Dave knew what he was like before they spent the summer together. And he'd certainly known when he'd asked Sebastian to be his steady. Sebastian wasn't going to start changing for some guy; not even for Dave. "The way I see it, Anderson's in the past, and if you don't get that, then you might as well split. And I'm not gonna change; I like me just fine."

"Christ, you're a pain in the ass," Dave answered, but he was laughing and his eyes were bright. "But cranky looks hot on you."

That wasn't the reaction Sebastian was expecting, at all. He folded his arms, feeling more defensive than he was used to. He was uncertain, which he hated. He'd been sure Dave was annoyed about his run in with Blaine, but instead Dave's hand was sliding up and down Sebastian's thigh and he was grinning, like he couldn't decide whether to be turned on or amused.

"Calling me a pain in the ass isn't gonna get you lucky," Sebastian countered as he wrapped his fingers around Dave's wrist and pulled his hand off Sebastian's leg, dropping it to the bed. Dave just grinned wider. Sebastian glared. "Well? You gonna talk or what?"

"You gonna let me finish this time?"

He wanted to snipe at Dave, wanted to say something cutting, but he just clenched his jaw. They could go round like that for ages, and he was hoping to have some fun before his parents got home. Assuming whatever Dave wanted to say didn't piss him off too much, of course. "If you can make it fast and interesting enough."

Dave smirked at him, like he'd won some sort of competition. Sebastian was about three seconds from punching him in the eye.

"I'm not gettin' jealous, okay? I know you got history with Ands, but I _know_ it's history. That ain't what this is about. And anyway, I don't want you to change. I like you just fine, too. But I just…I was just gonna ask you to maybe lay off him for a little bit, okay?" Dave shook his head at Sebastian's frown. "Not coz I got a problem; I don't. And I ain't gonna tell you Blaine's business, because he's my friend and that ain't cool. But he's kinda twisted up about this Kurt guy, y'know?"

Sebastian didn't know whether to believe Dave. Or, more accurately, he didn't know if Dave was right; he was sure Dave believed what he was saying, though. Dave had known Blaine a lot longer than Sebastian had, and yeah, he probably knew him better, too, but Sebastian found it hard to believe Blaine could be twisted up about _anybody_.

"Really?" he asked. He didn't even try to keep the skepticism from his tone.

"Yeah. I'm not gonna say more'n that. But just…if you wanna give Blaine a hard time, maybe pick a different subject for a while and don't bring up Kurt? Please?"

Sebastian sighed. The idea that he should curb his tongue, for any reason, rankled. It prickled at his skin that Dave wanted him to censor himself, but Dave looked so sincere. He was obviously very worried about Blaine, and Sebastian couldn't hold that against him. After all, when some asshole had called Sugar 'easy' last semester, Sebastian had given him a busted lip. He could hardly blame Dave for looking out for his best friend when Sebastian would do the same – only not as nicely, probably.

"So you just want me to leave Kurt out of it?"

"Yep."

"And you don't care about the other stuff?" he ventured. "As long as it's not about Kurt?"

"You got it. Y'know you're sexy when you're flirty. And when you're mean," Dave said. He reached out and tugged hard on Sebastian's elbow, until Sebastian fell forward across Dave's chest. "Mmm…and you're _twice_ as sexy when you're both."

Sebastian shifted until he was sprawled over Dave properly, elbows framing his head and one long leg between Dave's thighs. "Even when it's not at you?"

"You kidding? As long as I'm the one who gets the goods, you can throw the words at anybody you like."

"Yeah?" Sebastian asked, teasingly. He kissed Dave slowly and cupped him through his jeans, smirking when he found Dave already hard. He made quick work of Dave's fly, using one hand to ruck his jeans and boxer shorts over his hips, until Dave's cock was free; thick and warm against his stomach. "So…does that mean we're done talking?"

"Oh, yeah," Dave agreed, sliding Sebastian's underwear off him eagerly.

" _Finally._ But same goes for you. Especially the part about me gettin' the goods."

"Course." Dave rocked his hips up, sliding his dick against Sebastian's firmly. He pulled Sebastian down by the neck, meeting his eyes as he spoke, slowly and deliberately. "I'm all yours, Sebastian."

Sebastian liked the way Dave's voice roughened over his name; liked the way Dave remembered to use his real name when they were getting heavier. Maybe it was silly, Sebastian considered, but little things from Dave had meaning, and it wasn't like Sebastian was going to tell anyone what a sap he was becoming anyway.

Dave's mouth was on Sebastian's jaw, working its way up towards his ear, leaving his skin hot and buzzing.

"Good," he moaned as Dave's fingers traced along his inner thigh. "Maybe you could show me what I get for being a good boy and being kind to your friend, huh?"

In seconds, Sebastian found himself on his back, pressed into the bed with Dave above him. "I could definitely do that."

Warm, rough hands were dragging along his skin, and Dave pulled him into another kiss; longer and deeper than the last. When Dave broke away to lick and suck at his neck, Sebastian tugged at his hair until their eyes met. "You're a real good guy, Ka— _Dave_. I'm kinda gone on you."

Dave's eyes widened, and Sebastian tried not the squirm. His heart was pounding hard and fast in his chest; he hadn't meant to say that last part aloud, it had just slipped out.

"I'm glad," Dave said, eventually. "Coz I'm real gone on you, too, Sebastian. Have been for ages."

Some of the tension that had coiled in Sebastian's muscles melted away. Dave looked happy, genuinely happy, and Sebastian _believed_ him, despite himself.

"Well, you've got good taste," he replied with a snarky grin. "Now, you better make this worth my while if you want me to play nice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Glossary**  
>  clink: _jail  
> _ bite the weenie: _suck my dick  
> _ knuckle sandwich: _punch in the mouth  
> _ frosty: _angry  
> _ gone on you: _in love with you_


	6. A Hickey From Karofsky's Like a Hallmark Card

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like how this chapter turned out, but I've gotten to the point that I can't stand to look at it any more, so...uh...here. Hopefully it's not as crappy as it seems to me.

"D'you even know what you're doing?"

Dave winced as he was startled into smacking his head on the hood of his car. The other T-Birds had gone, and he'd been looking at the engine, trying to figure out how far the guys had gotten. It looked the same to him, except he thought maybe a few pieces looked cleaner. Or newer – _hopefully_ newer considering he'd been scrounging every spare dime he could for parts. He could wipe off the top of the engine for free if that was all they were doing.

He ducked his head out from under the hood, carefully, to glare at Blaine. "Like you're one ta talk, Ands."

Blaine's grin dropped from his face and he folded his arms. "And what's that supposed to mean, huh?"

As soon as Blaine spoke, Dave had regretted opening his mouth. He hadn't meant to sound so irritated, but Blaine had hit a sore spot. Dave had been working his ass off to pay for this car to get fixed up for ages and it still wasn't ready – it barely looked any different at all. It didn't help that the last few weeks he'd spent less time with Bassy and more time trying to make extra cash, and he didn't even know enough about cars to see any progress at all.

But none of that was Blaine's fault, and Dave shouldn't have snapped. Except he _was_ worried about Blaine, and whether his best friend knew what he was doing with all these meetings with Coach Beiste.

"It means for the past coupla weeks you been actin' like a crazy person for this Kurt cat," Dave sighed. "You know I got your back, but I ain't sure about this, man. You been puttin' in all this effort, changin' yourself when you don't need to, but he ain't even noticed."

"You're wrong."

"I'm not. You haven't had a smoke in weeks, you been tryin' all these different sports then bein' upset when they don't work out, but you won't even tell us what went wrong, you—"

"I _meant_ ," Blaine interrupted, "you're wrong, because he's noticed."

"Really?" Dave asked, doubtfully. He shut the hood of the car and gave up on pretending to know what he was looking for, in favor of giving them somewhere to sit. He hopped up onto the hood and nodded at the spot next to him. Blaine stared at him for a moment before joining him.

"Yeah, man. Look, I get it, okay? I know I been actin' a little different, but why does that gotta be a bad thing? I just…I really like Kurt, okay?"

Dave sighed. He understood that, but if Kurt didn't like Blaine as he was then he wasn't good enough for Blaine, not the other way around.

"I just don't think you gotta change for someone else, Anderson. You're a cool guy, ya know? If he doesn't see that, then he ain't right for you."

"You workin' up to another pep talk, now?" Blaine joked.

"No, asshole. I'm just sayin'."

They were quiet for a minute before Blaine finally replied. "I know. I do. But he _did_ like me, Karofsky. And I mean the real me, at the beach. But I'm the one who fucked that up by actin' like a dick in front of the guys and I just…I had to prove I was serious about him, okay? This ain't about being someone else, it's about showin' him I'm not really the asshole I acted like at the bonfire."

Blaine sounded sincere, and that was enough for Dave. Besides, he did think Kurt could be good for Blaine, as long as Blaine wasn't trying to be someone he wasn't and Kurt was happy with him as he really was.

"Well, alright then." Dave grinned, thinking about what Blaine had said earlier. "So, he noticed ya, huh Ands? I thought you was running track today? He think you looked sexy in your sweats and dragged you under the bleachers for some drills?"

"Don't be a jerk," Blaine laughed, kicking Dave's ankle just a little harder than a joke. "But uh…he's my date to the dance."

"Yeah? That's great, man."

"Yeah. You goin' with Bassy?"

"Course," Dave smirked as he lit a cigarette. "And uh…I wanna do somethin' nice for him, ya know? Special. I been real busy lately since I gotta pay for this thing somehow," he added, rapping his knuckles on the car hood, "so I wanna make it up to him. Wanna do something after the dance, but I ain't sure what."

Blaine leaned back until he was lying on the hood, arms folded under his head. "Well, what ideas you got?"

Dave scoffed, taking a long drag of his cigarette and blowing the smoke out slowly. "Ideas? It's gotta be special, but I ain't got a car or money. So…none."

"I'd lend you my car, man, but I'm gonna need it for the dance."

"I'm never gonna come up with anythin' good," Dave groaned.

"Nah, we'll think of somethin'. We just gotta put our heads together."

* * *

Sebastian leapt down the last two steps, in a hurry to answer the door, because whoever was there had been knocking for a few minutes. He was only half dressed; shirtless and barefoot but he'd tugged on some jeans, since he'd still been in bed in his underwear when the knocking started. He tore open the door, ready to rip the head off whoever decided to force him out of bed at eight in the morning when it was both a Saturday and his birthday.

He stared at the woman on his doorstep, too surprised to show any real anger.

"Santana? What the hell are you doing here?"

"What? A girl can't stop by to wish a friend 'Happy Birthday'?" Santana asked innocently, slipping past Sebastian into the house without an invitation.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and closed the door behind her. There was no point in trying to push her back outside, tempting as that was, since he knew well enough that she wouldn't leave until she was ready to. "We haven't been friends in a long time."

"We went to different high schools; doesn't mean we had to stop being friends."

"No, you becoming a complete _bitch_ meant we stopped being friends."

"Bullshit," she said, amused. "I was always a complete bitch. It's _why_ we're friends. Besides, it's not like you can talk."

"I'm no angel, but I'm pretty sure friends don't pull the kinds of stunts you've been pulling. Or was that someone else ramming Karofsky's car and calling me a twink back on bonfire night?"

He may not have mentioned it to Dave that night, but Santana's comment had stung. Sebastian had made it clear he was pissed about it, but he didn't want Dave to know he was a little hurt, too. He didn't think Dave knew that he and Santana had been good friends when they were younger, so he didn't see any reason to bring it up since Dave had just become his steady and Sebastian and Santana hadn't spoken in years. But he still remembered how close they had been years ago, and it bothered him more than it should have that she would treat him so viciously when their friendship hadn't exploded so much as faded away from lack of interaction.

"That guy's a fucking T-Bird; he can bite my perfectly formed ass." She looked up from the photo she'd been examining on his parent's hall table. It was taken last year; Sebastian and Sugar had been posing with the car he had just bought. She watched him for a second then leaned in and dragged her fingernail across his stomach. "And speaking of perfectly formed, _nice abs_. But anyway," continued, pulling her finger away before Sebastian could slap it, "since when do you take offense to a little friendly name calling, huh?"

"There you go using that word again, Santana. We're _not_ friends, not anymore, so why don't you just tell me what you want, huh?"

She smirked. "See? This is why we're _always_ gonna be friends, Smythe. Because we know each other so well and we call each other out on our shit."

"Whatever," he snapped. "Just get on with it, I got better things to do than spend my birthday here bickering with you."

"Fine. I wanted to know if you had a date for that big dance McKinley is throwing. The one for that TV show. Because I thought we could go together."

Sebastian stared at her, waiting for the punch line. When it was obvious there wasn't one, he laugher, humorlessly. "Well that's stupid. First of all, you don't have a dick."

"Geez, you're a real genius," she scoffed.

"Second of all, I'm going with Karofsky."

"You're still with that greaser punk?" she interjected. " _Why_? Hasn't he put out yet? Or does he have a magical cock or something?"

He probably shouldn't be offended by that, because well, long term hadn't exactly been his style for a long time. But it still annoyed him. A lot.

"Third of all," he said firmly, refusing to give her the satisfaction of knowing she had pissed him off, "are you fucking _crazy_? You can't attend a McKinley dance; you'll end up in hospital."

"You sayin' your boys would hit a lady?"

Sebastian snorted. "You're no lady, Lopez."

Santana grinned. "And don't you forget it." She paused then sighed and took a seat on the third step on the staircase. When Sebastian pointedly didn't join her, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, chill out, Smythe. I haven't suddenly joined the heterosexual-brigade and want you to do the same. I don't want your dick, and I don't want to get you into my panties, got it?" He snorted and she smiled. She reminded Sebastian of a shark; too many teeth and not enough conscience. "But I _do_ want an in to that dance. If me and Brittany can go with you, I _know_ my girl can win. She's a fucking star, okay? She's gonna be the next Ginger Rogers and _this_? This is gonna be her big break."

"Right," Sebastian replied, voice laced with sarcasm. It was true, Brittany was an incredible dancer, he knew that much, but he wasn't going to ditch Dave to help Santana. "Well, I'm still going with Karofsky, and you still better stay away from the dance if you don't want your pretty face mangled."

"Oh please. The T-Birds talk a big game but they ain't gonna lay a hand on me, especially not on national television. They're not actually as stupid as they look, all evidence aside." She stood, stepping closer to Sebastian. Her face softened, and Sebastian was reminded once more of the young girl he used to dress up with on Halloween. "And you're too good for Karofsky, anyway. He's nothin' but a loser with a worn leather jacket and a piece of crap that no one with eyes can call a car."

Sebastian tensed. He wasn't usually defensive of the guys he hooked up with, but Dave was different. "Answer's still no," he said, jaw clenched. Santana blinked at him, clearly surprised by his vehemence. "And you better watch the next words outta your mouth, because I'm _not_ all talk and I _will_ feed you a knuckle sandwich if you keep on about him."

She took a step back, hands held in front of her in a calming gesture. "Fine, fine. I get it; I'll back off him, okay?" She looked sincere. Sebastian couldn't help but wonder if his old friend was still there under the Scorpion attitude – the same way Sebastian was still himself, just covered with a thick layer of Pink Hottie – or if she was playing some game to manipulate him.

"Make sure you do," he said, not willing to give in, but not quite able to forget how close they used to be, either.

"But I really _did_ come over to wish you a happy birthday, okay? Here." Santana pulled a small box out of her jacket and tossed it to Sebastian. He caught it, surprised, and turned it over in his hands. It was a simple, flat box that was held together with a silver ribbon. "Happy Birthday. For old times, right? I know when we were kids we pinkie swore we'd spend our eighteenth birthdays together eating cake and candy till we felt sick, but I'm guessing plans have changed. I'm not so big on candy anymore, anyway. But I hope Karofsky cares enough to make tonight a good one, for ya."

She sauntered past Sebastian, bumping shoulders with him in a strangely friendly way as she moved. She opened the front door and started to leave, but turned at the last moment to face him. "Let me know if you change your mind, yeah? It could be a blast."

* * *

Sebastian tried not to read too much into it. So he hadn't heard from Dave all day…so what? They'd already promised to meet up at the diner that evening; it wasn't like Dave had to spend the whole day with Sebastian, just because it was Sebastian's birthday.

He glanced down at his wrist as Sugar pulled into a parking space. They were early. Santana had given him a watch; a nice one, exactly the kind he'd have picked for himself. Did it mean something that she'd come to his house first thing that morning to wish him a happy birthday, whereas his own boyfriend hadn't? And okay, Santana had an ulterior motive, but it still bothered Sebastian that she'd gone to more effort than Dave had.

Not that he expected Dave to start buying him fancy watches. But spending some time, just the two of them, might have been nice. The girls had all been at Sebastian's place for the last few hours, getting ready and having a mini party, but he'd spent the morning and early afternoon alone.

"Why're you lookin' so glum?" Sugar asked, popping her gum after Tina and Rachel had gotten out of the car and headed into the diner. "It's your birthday, you should be happy!"

"I'm fine."

"I thought only girls could get PMS."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"This about Karofsky? He do somethin'?" she asked with a frown. Sugar wasn't always the most observant person around, but she somehow seemed to manage exactly when Sebastian didn't want her to.

"More like what he didn't do," he muttered under his breath.

Sugar grinned, looking eager for potential gossip. "What's the matter? He too quick off the mark this mornin'?"

"Don't be stupid," Sebastian growled. "I didn't even see him this morning."

"Last night, then?"

"He's never been too quick with me, so quit lookin' for rumors, okay? Besides, I didn't see him last night, either."

There was an awkward silence between them for a while, but just as Sebastian was about to get out of the car, Sugar spoke. "He's been kinda busy lately, huh?"

"That's not—it's fine, okay?"

"If you say so," Sugar shrugged. She clearly didn't believe it, but at least she was willing to drop the subject.

"Just don't say anything about it."

Sugar turned to face him, suddenly, and Sebastian groaned. So much for dropping the subject.

"About what?" she demanded. "About how he's an asshole for not making time for you on your birthday?"

"He's gonna be here tonight." He hated how weak that sounded. Sebastian tried not to consider that maybe Dave just couldn't be bothered; it wasn't fair to be upset that Dave hadn't put his life on hold to spend his morning with Sebastian when they hadn't made any plans together.

"Yeah, but we're always here on Saturday night. It's just weird he didn't wanna see you alone, is all. I mean…you don't think he forgot, do you?"

"How should I know?" Sebastian snapped. He'd wondered about that – of _course_ he had – but the idea that Dave didn't care enough to remember was too hurtful to think about.

"Well, did you _remind_ him?"

"What? Why should I? You think I should make a big deal about it, like I expect him to shower me with presents and treat me all special? Like I should make him feel obligated?"

The last thing Sebastian wanted to do was look all clingy and high maintenance, like he was Quinn fucking Fabray.

"That's not what I meant," Sugar said. "But you at least told him it's today, right?"

"Are you writing a book or something? Sugar, we've been at the same school for four years. He _has_ to know. Besides, you and the other Hotties spent the last two weeks making plans for this afternoon. It's not exactly a secret."

"Yeah, but it's not like any of us were talkin' to him or the other boys about our Hotties-Only birthday pampering session, now were we?"

Sebastian's stomach twisted a little and he felt oddly anxious. "Just drop it. And keep your trap _shut_ , okay? Don't go blabbing to him and making him feel bad that he didn't come see me this morning. He was just busy. We're gonna have a good night; he didn't forget, okay?"

He refused to believe that he meant so little to Dave that he could have forgotten Sebastian's eighteenth birthday. He didn't want to think about what it would mean if a girl he hadn't spoken to in years cared more about Sebastian than his boyfriend did, not when Sebastian had finally started believing he'd found something good.

* * *

Something was wrong with Bassy, but Dave had no idea what. He'd seemed okay when Dave first got to the Frosty Palace, but within minutes it was clear his mood was a bad one, and he was tense and short-tempered.

Dave had asked what was bothering him a few times, but Bas just rolled his eyes and said he was fine. He had even asked Sugar but she just huffed, popped her gum in his face and then walked away without a word. The Hotties had all gotten there early, so Dave figured they must have been on the end of Bassy's glares until they were cranky themselves.

He felt like he'd been stepping on eggshells all night, which sucked because Dave's day had been pretty crappy and the last thing he needed was to top it off with an even worse night. He couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong, so he put it down to Bassy being in a snit and using him as an easy target. It had happened before, and Dave had thick skin; he would try and take it if it made Bassy feel better.

Still, he was relieved when he saw Blaine turn up, dragging Kurt along behind him. Maybe Bas would lose the mood around them, or at least he might hold his tongue a bit more. If he tried not to snap at people and not to dwell on whatever upset him, maybe he'd feel better by the end of the night.

Dave snuck up to Blaine's table, after checking to make sure Bassy was following. He pulled down the menus Blaine had propped up and let out a loud burp. "How you doin', Ands, huh? Nice! Golden combs!"

"Hi, Bassy, how are you?" Kurt asked as Dave pulled an empty table up.

"Peachy keen, jelly bean."

It sounded like it was working already; Bassy's tone wasn't unfriendly, which was a good start.

"Hey, you got a couple of quarters? We can split an Eskimo pie," Dave suggested. He was even more broke than usual, still funneling as much of his money as he could into fixing up the car, while also trying to save some money for the night of the dance. He'd even taken on some extra shifts where he could, but even with the parts they'd managed to swipe instead of buy, Dave was barely scraping together enough.

"My Dutch-treat days are over," Bassy said, sharply.

That was weird; Bassy had never had a problem splitting the bill before, and it wasn't like Dave had the kind of cash where he could pay for everything. "You plan on stayin' home a lot!"

Bassy glared at him. Dave tried to ignore it.

"Hey, greetings, pals and gals!" Puck called out as he came up the stairs with Sugar, while Finn climbed over the railing beside them. "Hey, I got twenty-three cents. Anybody wanna chip in for a Dog-sled Delight?"

"I don't know where all my money goes," Sugar huffed. "A dime here, fifteen cents there."

Dave knew exactly how she felt, except he also knew that Sugar's parents were richer than Bassy's and twice as willing to hand over their money, so he wasn't sure what she had to complain about.

"Yeah, well another couple of months, Rachel'll be able to take us all out. Huh?" Finn added as Rachel made her way to the table. "A working girl with income."

He and Puck had grabbed a few spare chairs for the girls and they sat down as Sugar grinned. "Hey, that's right."

"Well. You know," Rachel sounded hesitant, "they don't pay you very much to start off with."

"Yeah? Well, that's still more than we make. So, uh, ante up because I don't get my allowance until Friday."

Dave scoffed at Finn. "What, you get an allowance?"

 _Must be nice._ He couldn't imagine his mother offering him anything other than a rant on how disappointing he was.

"When I'm a good boy, I do."

"Hey, Mercedes," Puck called out across the diner, "a Dog-sled Delight with four spoons."

"And a Eskimo pie with a knife," Dave added, loudly. He didn't want to make too big a deal out of it, but Bassy knew he'd been slim on cash, so Dave gave him a pointed look as he said it. Bassy stared across at him, pulling his cigarette from his lips to give Dave a more effective sneer.

Instead of reacting, and maybe starting a fight, Dave just stared back. After a moment Bassy started to ignore him in favor of looking into the compact mirror he'd been carrying around since he realized how many hickeys Dave liked to give him. He often bitched about them and had started trying use powder to make them less obvious in public, but when they were alone Bassy sometimes let slip how much he loved them. And he certainly hadn't stopped Dave from giving him one on Bassy's neck as soon as they'd said hello earlier. Dave would have thought Bassy was mad about that, especially since he got moody just a few minutes later, but he'd definitely liked it at the time and it wasn't unusual for them, so he didn't think that could have been it.

Dave bummed a cigarette from Blaine just as Tina and Mike joined them and Mercedes brought over Blaine and Kurt's food. Maybe it would help him think. He could feel himself getting more and more irritated by Bassy's mood, and he needed to cool down before he started being a complete asshole back.

He was going to do his best to just let Bas' verbal attacks slide right past him, though he wasn't sure how much more he could put up with that night.

Instead of the usual careful press to cover up the dark marks, Bassy was stabbing at them furiously, leaving large traces of very visible powder. That probably wasn't a good sign.

* * *

Sebastian glanced into his compact and sighed. The fact that he was even _carrying_ a compact was ridiculous, but Dave liked to mark him up. A lot.

Normally he didn't mind, although he still tried to cover them a bit in public, but he was pissed that Dave had forgotten his birthday. And he also normally didn't mind paying his own way or sharing food with Dave, but well, maybe he was punishing Dave a little.

Tina and Mike arrived to a flurry of greetings as Sebastian was covering up his latest mark with absolutely zero care or subtlety.

"Here y'are." Mercedes put a tray in front of Blaine and smiled. "Grab it and growl."

"I got so many hickeys," Bassy complained, "people'll think I'm a leper."

"Hey, cheer up. Uh, a hickey from Karofsky's like a Hallmark card—"

Sebastian's eyes darted up to meet Dave's. He was waving Blaine's burger around as he spoke.

"—when you care enough to send the very best." Dave took a huge, messy bite out of the burger. Sebastian almost couldn't believe it, but that had to have been a joke about his birthday. A comment like that couldn't be a coincidence.

"You pig!" Sebastian snapped as Dave chuckled.

"Uh. I love it when you talk dirty!"

"My parents want to invite you round for tea on Sunday," Kurt told Blaine, changing the subject. "Do you wanna come?"

Despite the anxiety coiling in Sebastian's chest at Dave's words, he couldn't help but stare between Kurt and Blaine, curious to see how it would play out.

"I don't like tea."

"You don't have to drink tea!" Kurt sounded amused, like he was surprised Blaine was looking for an excuse not to meet his parents. Sebastian might have felt a shred of pity if he wasn't too busy forcing himself to act normal.

"Well, I don't like parents," Blaine admitted and the group laughed.

Sebastian gave up on listening to the others for a while after that. He tried, but he was too upset to pay attention _and_ pretend to be okay, so he let the words drift past him as he schooled his face into a false smile around his cigarette. Tina and Mike were chattering behind him, but he couldn't care less what they were saying because _Dave had deliberately ignored his eighteenth birthday_.

Then he'd laughed about it.

Once again, Sebastian had let himself believe someone cared about him, and ended up with a kick in the teeth. He almost couldn't believe he'd been so stupid, but then he remembered the look on Dave's face when they were alone. He'd sounded so…so fucking honest. So _sincere_.

But he'd been playing Sebastian, obviously. And Sebastian had let him. This was so much worse than what had happened with Blaine. At least Blaine had never pretended to really care.

He pulled a file out of his pocket and used it to keep his hands busy. And maybe to fantasize about stabbing Dave between the eyes.

 _When you care enough to send the very best_ , Dave had said. Or when you don't care enough to bother with anything at all, was what he hadn't said, but that was the statement, loud and clear.

Puck's loud laughter grabbed Sebastian's attention. He didn't know how much time had passed while his mind had been wondering. He didn't think it had been too long since no one looked curious, but then again half of their friends were on their way to the door and Sebastian didn't know why.

"You know, Blaine, I'm kinda worried about this dance-off," Kurt said. "Maybe they dance differently than we do back home."

"Don't worry about it," Sebastian replied, trying to find his way back into the conversation. "Maybe you'll invent the kangaroo bop."

Dave made a face at Sebastian, laughing sarcastically as though _he_ was the one who had a right to be angry. As though Sebastian had wronged Dave, instead of the other way around.

"C'mon, let's get out of here, Kurt," Blaine said. Sebastian focused on his cigarette instead of saying goodbye the way Rachel and Dave were. He wasn't sure he could say anything without screaming in Dave's face.

He took one last drag then put the butt out on a plate, just as Dave rolled his eyes.

"Oh, great! I get stuck with the check again," Dave complained. He held his hand out. "Gimme money."

Sebastian glared, furiously. Who _the fuck_ did Dave think he was, talking to Sebastian like that?

Dave took a deep breath and dropped his hand to the table. "Okay, what is it, huh? What's with you tonight? You've got the personality of a wet mop."

He looked every part the long-suffering boyfriend and Sebastian couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "Don't start with me!"

"Oh, sure, fine, okay? Eureka! How about I finish with you, huh?"

The sick feeling that had been festering in Sebastian's stomach since he'd arrived exploded. The tiny part of him that had been holding back in case he was wrong disintegrated. Dave really didn't care. He'd been bluffing about ending it, that was obvious, but the fact that he was threatening their relationship just to get what he wanted was the final straw.

"Finish this!" Sebastian shouted as he shot to his feet and tossed his drink right at Dave's smug expression. He pulled Dave's jacket off from where it had been draped over his shoulders, and threw it in his face. "To you from me, Pinky Lee!" He turned to leave, spotting Rachel trying to clean up where she'd been caught in the crossfire. "Sorry, French," he added right before he stormed off.

He could hear Dave calling out behind him, but Sebastian didn't stop.

"Bassy! Hey, Bassy! C'mon, I'm talking to you! Now!"

He sped up until he was outside then ducked down the street and out of Dave's line of sight. He ran until he knew Dave had no idea where he'd gone.

If Sebastian never saw David Karofsky again, it would be too soon.

* * *

Dave wasn't moping. He _wasn't_. He was just thinking. About Bassy. About how he was better off without such a difficult person in his life, anyway.

He sighed. He might have managed to convince the T-Birds – except maybe Blaine – but that didn't mean he could convince himself. He stopped pretending he was doing something useful and just stared up at his car's undercarriage.

With the break up, he could probably spend a bit more money on her and get her fixed up a little quicker – it wasn't like he still needed the extra cash he'd saved to surprise Bassy with. He should have spent it already, his date with Thunder Road was getting closer and closer and his car still needed a heap of work. But he couldn't ignore the hope that he and Bassy would fix things soon.

Not that Bassy had so much as glanced his way since their fight at the diner.

"Just lower your head, Karofsky," Finn said as he and Puck almost clobbered Dave with a rear bumper. For some reason they were moving under the car instead of around it, like they were trying to take Dave's head off.

"What are you _doing_?"

"Work with me. C'mon, Karofsky, give him a break, huh?" Puck was just close enough to kick; lucky for him Dave was too busy trying to dodge the metal whizzing by his head to aim.

"I'll give him a break, alright," Dave muttered.

"No. We'll work on the brakes later," Finn answered, distractedly. He was the one that knew the most about cars, since his step-dad worked on them for a living. He was usually the one doing the most work, though he sounded like he was probably thinking more about Rachel and less about Dave's car. Lucky they weren't doing any engine work that day. "Move over, slick," he added, and Dave could see Mike's feet shuffle over.

"Hey, fruitcake, ya got it on backwards," Puck said.

"Uh-huh."

That didn't really fill Dave with confidence, but hey, it was free labor and they'd been doing okay so far.

"What kind of car did you swipe this from anyway?" Mike asked.

Dave grinned; Mike had totally set himself up for an easy jab, and he wasn't disappointed when he heard both Finn and Puck answering. "Your mother's."

He might not have Bassy anymore, but at least the guys could still make him smile. And if the three stooges over there could fix his car, maybe Dave could fix his relationship.

* * *

Dave took a drag of his cigarette as he watched some of the television crew carrying their equipment. Bassy still wasn't talking to him; so much for fixing it before the dance. He should have just spent the money on his car and forgotten about Sebastian Smythe.

Well, he was done. He'd tried to figure out where he'd gone wrong, but Bassy wasn't letting him in on it, and the other Hotties had their lips sealed, probably on pain of losing their jacket, if Bassy's salty mood said anything.

He wasn't going to keep trying. It was over with Bassy and he just had to move on. And with Blaine taken, Dave would be prime date material; he could get anyone he wanted in a hot second. And he would. He'd find some cute underclassman; he didn't need Bas.

Of course, Bassy _would_ pick that exact moment to walk past with Sugar. He looked just as gorgeous as always and Dave couldn't help but stare.

"Bas," Sugar said, nodding her head towards Dave.

For the first time in weeks, Bassy looked Dave right in the eye, and his resolve disappeared. Dave blew a plume of smoke, trying not to show how much that one look got to him, but he felt it right down to his bones.

Bassy would have looked stone cold to most people, but Dave knew him so well and there was still something there, he could see it. Maybe he was still in with a chance – but he had to play his cards right, starting with the right date for the dance. He couldn't be a loser and go stag, but he couldn't take someone whom Bassy would think he had moved on with.

The jealousy angle might work with someone else, but not with Bassy. Dave had a different idea, though. He needed to show Bassy what he was missing, without looking like he was into someone else. What he needed was someone who could make him really stand out on the dance floor.

A hand fell on his shoulder, startling him.

"Hey, um, you still gonna go to the dance?" Blaine asked.

Dave's mouth curled into a grin. "Man, I'm gonna have the hottest date there."

* * *

"Biggest thing that ever happened to McKinley High, and we don't have dates," Sugar complained as Bassy threw his jacket into the car.

Puck had obviously been itching to take Sugar to the dance, but for whatever reason he hadn't asked. And Sugar wasn't going to let Puck know he had a chance with her, for motives that Sebastian was too frazzled to think about.

Seeing Dave hurt _far_ more than it should have. Bassy refused to dwell on that.

"What about Rudy from the Capri Lounge?"

Sugar scoffed. "Get serious!"

"Just a suggestion," he replied, innocently, glancing across the parking lot when he heard the very distinct thrum of Santana's car.

"Well, I already called him."

"Relax," Bassy grinned as Santana pulled up near them. He had forgotten about her proposal, but seeing her again reminded him. It was actually perfect; she might not be much of a date, but she'd definitely piss off Dave. "I think our luck is changing."

Santana revved her engine and Sebastian smirked. Apparently he had a date to the dance, after all.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Sugar hissed.

"What _we're_ doing," Bassy corrected, grabbing Sugar by the elbow and pulling her towards Santana's car. "Come on."

They leapt into the car and Santana took off out of the car park, tires squealing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Glossary**  
>  are you writing a book?: _why are you asking so many questions?_  
>  salty: _angry_


	7. You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog

Santana was leaning over, reapplying her mascara in front of Sebastian's mirror. She was wearing a dress in grey that should have looked drab, but instead was perfect on her. The top half formed into a halter-neck with a strange pale yellow collar that mimicked a suit and dress shirt. It was creative and different. Sebastian suspected she'd designed and made it herself, but he doubted she'd admit it – she was a tough as nails gang leader, not a fucking _seamstress_ , she'd say.

"So let me get this straight," he asked her as she touched up her bright red lipstick, "Brittany found _someone else_ to take her to the dance, even though she was the whole reason you wanted us to go together?"

"Yep." She popped the 'p' with an amused smirk then blotted her lips carefully. Considering the circumstances, Sebastian wasn't sure why Santana was even there.

"Then…why are you here? Why are you still coming with me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because, asshole, I already agreed to, and if I don't go, you'll either turn up sad and alone or you won't go at all – both of which would mean the wannabe bear whose cock you used to grind off on will think he's won."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Santana—"

"And _also_ , because said loser happens to be the one taking Brittany."

_What?_

"Are you—when did that happen?"

Shrugging, Santana rolled her eyes. "I don't know. I don't care. But what I do know is that I'm not letting my girl enter a dance competition without being there to watch and support her, and I'm _sure as shit_ not letting her dance all up on someone else without keeping an eye on where the guy's hands are."

"For someone so graphic about my ex…uh…ex- _thing_ with Dave, you don't seem to have wrapped your head around the fact that he likes dick. And since you _don't_ like it, I'm fairly sure Brittany doesn't have one," Sebastian said, dryly.

"Look, I don't know why Karofsky asked her, I just know that he did. Do you get that? _He_ asked _her_. And maybe he's just trying to be a dick because I hate him, or because he knows you and I are going together…but maybe that's not it. It might not have occurred to you, but just because you and I are both dedicated to the home team, doesn't mean that he is. Brittany likes guy parts just as much as girl ones, okay? It happens, and since I don't know if your former beau leans one way or both, I'm not taking any chances."

And that was…a really good point that Sebastian had never even considered. He'd never seen Dave with a girl, had never heard anything about him with one, either. But that didn't mean it didn't happen…or that Dave didn't want it to.

Well, fuck.

Sebastian shoved Santana a foot to the right so he could check his hair. He wasn't going to turn up to the dance looking anything less than perfect.

* * *

Sebastian oozed confidence as he sauntered into the room, flanking Santana on her left, Sugar on her right. He was wearing a red suit with black accents and he knew he looked hot. He licked his lips and glanced around, trying to catch a glimpse of Dave without being too obvious about it.

Santana was clearly unimpressed by the decorations and music, but she looked arrogant and dangerous and fit his mood pretty well.

"Hey Sugar," Puck said as he approached them, "you're lookin' good."

There was a hand on the back of Sebastian's neck, Santana's hand. He knew it probably looked possessive, but he didn't care. He knew it was her way of reminding him that she was there if he needed her. The hand on Sugar's neck meant something entirely different, so he wasn't surprised when Sugar shrugged it off.

"Uh, would you just excuse me one second?" Sugar asked Santana, not waiting for an answer before she rushed off with Puck. Sebastian snorted quietly to himself. Sugar would have to stop playing hard to get with Puck eventually; she wasn't fooling anybody.

Santana's hand slipped down a little further, until it was resting on Sebastian's shoulder, and he leaned into it a little. He couldn't see Dave anywhere; he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but he didn't want to dwell on the idea that Santana had planted in his head. He'd never considered that Dave might have an interest in girls before, but suddenly it was all he could think about.

Was there a chance that he was taking Brittany because he liked her, and not just because she was supposed to be the most amazing dancer around? If Dave was on an actual date, Sebastian wasn't sure he wanted to be there to witness it. Except there was no way he'd be anywhere else, because he was apparently a masochist, and because someone had to be there to break up the fight if Santana got her claws out.

Besides, leaving would be too much like running away, and Sebastian had far too much pride for that.

They skipped the first dance in favor of grabbing a drink. Sebastian had gotten a good buzz going before they arrived, but it would disappear quickly enough if he didn't keep sneaking mouthfuls from the flask in his suit jacket. By the time the song finished, there were already couples fighting and Santana rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Sebastian in amusement.

At least if he had to be there with somebody other than Dave, it was someone that shared his sense of disdain for almost everyone around them. Hopefully the night would be mildly entertaining.

He and Santana were dancing when Sebastian spotted Dave hanging all over Brittany like a bad smell and he couldn't help but gape. They weren't… _doing_ anything, but they looked closer than Sebastian was comfortable with, and Santana must have agreed because when she saw them she looked furious. She pulled away from Sebastian, looking ready to commit murder, but he gathered his wits just in time to stop her.

Dave whispered something into Brittany's ear with a grin. She was chewing gum and looking like a smug little brat, so Sebastian turned away, putting his arms around Santana as much to stop her from attacking anyone as to stop himself from doing the same. He didn't know what Brittany was playing at – Sebastian and Dave might not be together anymore, but Brittany and Santana _were_ , even if they were at the dance with other people.

Sebastian didn't really know Brittany, but he was starting to think he didn't like her a whole lot. He tried to convince himself that it was on Santana's behalf, and not because it was _Dave_ Brittany was flirting with, but he didn't do a very good job.

* * *

Dave was laughing with Brittany; she was funny even though he didn't think she meant to be. He hadn't been surprised to see Bassy turn up with that Scorpio-bitch Lopez, but he still hated it. Maybe it was petty of him to try and rile Lopez up by leaning a little closer to her girlfriend than he should have, but hey, that was what she got for ramming his car.

It had nothing to do with Bas. _Nothing_.

"Hey, Anderson, Ands, Ands," he called out when he spotted Blaine. "I want you to meet Brittany S. Pierce."

Brittany eyed Blaine up and down like a piece of meat, and judging by the uncomfortable look Blaine gave her, Dave suspected they'd already met.

"How ya doin', Anderson, baby?"

Blaine began pacing back and forth awkwardly. "Alright," he told her flatly, confirming Dave's theory. Dave wondered about it, about why Blaine had never mentioned it; but then again just because they were best friends didn't mean they were joined at the hip.

"Who is she?" Finn asked, rudely.

"I'm Brittany. And I'm the best dancer at Crawford Country Day."

"With the worst reputation," Rachel muttered. Dave ignored her, but Brittany glared.

"Let's go, Kurt," Blaine said. Kurt looked confused and flustered as he was dragged away.

When the band started playing 'Tears On My Pillow', Dave followed Brittany into the crowd. Everyone divided into two lines, opposite their dance partner. As he and Brittany danced between the lines during their turn, he couldn't help but notice Bassy pointedly not looking at him.

He didn't like how much it hurt.

Lopez, on the other hand was glaring daggers at him. At least _something_ about the night was fun.

Dave very deliberately stared at the floor when it was Bassy and Lopez's turn down the middle. If Bassy could ignore him, he could do the same.

Eventually the song was over and the McKinley fight song played. Dave wanted to head over to the drink table, but Brittany shook her head and gripped his shoulder tightly. He supposed that made sense; she was there to win, so she would of course want to pay attention to the announcements.

Principal Sylvester began speaking and Dave tuned her out, disinterested. Brittany would be leading anyway, she could keep them in line with the rules. She'd make them look good and to be honest if he tried to lead he'd probably fall over his own feet.

Some guy whose name Dave vaguely recognized from the radio – Jesse St. James – was working up the crowd. He was the host, apparently. Dave wasn't too concerned one way or another, but Brittany jabbed him sharply in the side and he began to pay attention. He rolled his eyes at the rules when Coach Beiste announced all couples had to be boy/girl. That wasn't going to stop Blaine and Kurt. And it wouldn't have stopped him and Bassy if…well. That didn't matter, anyway. Coach Beiste announced a second rule that Dave wasn't listening to, then Principal Sylvester took the microphone back.

"And rule three… anyone doing tasteless or vulgar movements will be disqualified," Principal Sylvester announced to a chorus of booing.

"That leaves us out!" Bassy called out, rubbing suggestively into Lopez. Maybe he should have just stabbed Dave in the chest and been done with it. Dave was being kind of stupid, he knew, because Bassy had always been clear that he had no interest in women at all, but it still hurt.

"Can we keep it clean, please?" Coach Beiste encouraged. "Let's keep it clean."

Dave seconded that.

It was only a few moments before the cameras were on and they began to dance. They started off with 'Hound Dog', which was a song that Dave really enjoyed. What he didn't enjoy was how close he was to Bassy and Lopez. They were just ahead and to the left; Dave couldn't stop from glancing over at them constantly. Bassy looked like he was having fun.

Just then the camera moved forward and everyone rushed towards it, although Dave tried to pull Brittany back. She wanted to win, not get disqualified for not dancing. And seeing her move, Dave knew she could do it. Probably not with him as a partner, he figured. She'd have better luck dancing with Mike, if he wasn't with Tina and still pretending he didn't know how to move. What a joke.

When the actual competition began, Dave and Brittany were a little further from Bassy and Lopez, but not nearly far enough for Dave. Only Blaine and Kurt were between them and they barely blocked anything from view. Dave tried to concentrate on Brittany and on his own moves, but it was difficult. Especially when Bassy looked like he was having more fun than Dave remembered in a long time.

When Jesse St. James slipped between Dave and Brittany, he pointed over at Bassy and Lopez. "See the chick over there with the guy in the red? Throw 'em out," Dave said, angrier than he should have been. As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He knew Bassy wasn't into Lopez. And worse, he shouldn't be mad at Bassy for having a good time. He knew he was being an asshole; he just couldn't quite help it.

"Hey, watch it, man! Get outta here!" he heard Blaine's voice. When he looked over, Blaine was talking to St. James. The host was jiving with Kurt, clearly not too concerned about the fact that Kurt and Blaine were breaking the boy/girl rule, although at Blaine's words St. James' eyes narrowed.

Blaine was going to get booted from the competition if he wasn't careful. St. James could do it, and he'd even be following the rules.

The crowd thinned pretty quickly, couples being sent off the floor all over the place. Dave watched as Bassy and Lopez got a little too risqué with their moves – Dave probably would have loved seeing Bassy like that if it hadn't been for the flash of jealousy low in his gut – and he was relieved when they were sent off. For a moment it looked like Lopez was going to scratch St. James' eyes out, but instead she stalked towards him and Brittany in a fury.

Dave couldn't hear what Lopez was saying to Brittany over the music, but he didn't like the look on her face as she said it. He tried to get in between them, and suddenly Lopez was on him, fists flying, and it was only through a little luck and Bassy dragging her away that he didn't end up with a black eye.

Brittany tried to pull him back into the dance and Dave decided it was time to show off a little, since Bassy would probably be watching. He and Brittany got out a few more impressive moves; ones that they'd practiced meticulously for hours before the dance. As the song drew to an end, he saw Bassy follow Lopez out of the building and he couldn't stop staring at the exit. Who knew where they were going?

He wanted to go after Bassy, but he couldn't leave his dance partner. She'd be disqualified and she was actually really good. She deserved to win.

Glancing around the room, Dave could see there were only half a dozen couples left. One of the couples was Blaine and Kurt, although it looked like one of the judges was eyeing them off, probably deciding they had to send them off before they won against the rules. Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone. Or even three, he thought, as he saw Quinn Fabray dancing for one of the cameras. He whispered his plan in Brittany's ear, who nodded at him, then headed straight for Fabray.

He slipped up behind her, acting far drunker than he was, and lifted her skirt up on national television. He'd have felt like a jerk if he didn't know Bassy would have _loved_ it.

After that, it was just a matter of getting kicked off the dance floor. He knew that some of the judges had been taking names at the very beginning of the night, but they'd given up early once the dancing had gotten more adventurous. No one had asked him and Brittany for theirs yet, and he hadn't seen anyone ask Blaine and Kurt, either.

Blaine was good enough to help Brittany win, and it'd be a waste for Blaine to lose just because he had a boyfriend.

Once Dave was on the sidelines, having successfully offended Becky's sensibilities to the point of elimination, he convinced a drunken Puck to help him out then headed out the door.

Brittany could take care of the rest.

Dave had gotten to the parking lot as quickly as he could without completely letting down his new friend; but he was too late. Bassy was nowhere to be seen and Lopez's car wasn't there, either.

* * *

Once Dave finally stopped abusing the doorbell and slamming his fist against the front door, Sebastian took a steadying breath and relaxed. Dave had been trying to convince Sebastian to let him inside for at least fifteen minutes, and the last thing he needed was for the neighbors to complain to his parents when they got back from their trip to New York.

At first the doorbell had chimed just the once and Sebastian had gone downstairs to see who it was. He'd gotten halfway down the stairs, recognized the silhouette through the glass arch, and turned around to head right back upstairs again. Dave must have seen him, because that was when the loud knocking and repeated doorbell ringing began.

Sebastian had tried to drown out the noise with a quick shower, but by the time he was out, the ruckus had only gotten louder and more determined. He was surprised no one had called the police, actually. He pulled a pair of sleep pants on, just in case that changed. If he had to open the door to the fuzz, he probably shouldn't do it naked.

By the time Dave finally gave up, it was nearly midnight and Sebastian was just…over it. He was over the whole night, so he crawled into bed and tried to ignore the irritation that had crawled to settle in his spine. He turned out his light and closed his eyes, but all he could see was Dave and that…that _girl_.

 _Tap tap_.

"Bas—Sebastian?"

The voice was muffled, but it was Dave's. What the _fuck_?

Sebastian got out of bed and switched on his lamp, huffing angrily when he saw Dave outside his bedroom window. On the second floor.

_Motherfucker._

"You have _got_ to be kidding me…"

"C'mon, Bassy, let me in before I fall out of this fucking tree."

Sebastian was tempted to let Dave suffer, to go and sleep in his parent's room where there was nothing outside their window but open air, but he just…couldn't.

" _Dammit_."

He unlatched the window, but refused to open it. If Dave wanted to come in he could risk breaking an arm or a leg and open it himself.

"You know, you could have just let me in the front door," Dave said once he was inside and brushing leaves out of his hair.

"What the fuck are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be getting your rocks off with your dancin' dolly?" he sneered. "Or she all show and no go?"

Dave glared at him. "What are you talking about? Why would I— _what_?"

Sebastian folded his arms across his chest and glared right back. He wasn't going to sound like a jealous ex – at least not any more than he probably already did – by saying anything else about it.

After a moment, realization dawned on Dave's face, and Sebastian could feel himself scowling even harder at the way Dave smirked. "You sound a little green, Bas."

"Oh, fuck you."

Dave was all over him before Sebastian could move.

"That could be arranged," he said in Sebastian's ear, one hand in the center of his back while the other one gripped Sebastian's ass and pulled him close.

"Get…get off me." Sebastian made a halfhearted attempt to shove Dave away, but Dave's mouth was at Sebastian's throat and he ended up gripping Dave's collar tight and pulling him closer instead. He moaned when Dave's teeth tugged at his ear, sending sparks shooting down his neck. Sebastian tried to pull himself together enough to focus on why he shouldn't be letting Dave touch him. "You don't…you don't get to just come here because she was playin' hard to get," he breathed.

"Christ, Bassy, why would I even go for her? She's missin' something kinda important," Dave said against his jaw, sliding his leg between Sebastian's and pressing the hard muscle of his thigh against Sebastian's cock. "Also, ain't she with Lopez? Pretty sure she likes beaver, not wood."

"She likes _both_ ," Sebastian told him through gritted teeth. He should have been pushing Dave away, but he wasn't. He was still mad, of course he was, but Dave was…fuck. Dave was a weakness, and Sebastian knew damn well he wasn't strong enough to say no, not when he was rock hard and Dave was making him hotter with every touch.

"I don't give a fuck what she likes," Dave growled, "I like guys. Shit, Bas, I like _you_. You're just so…you're the only…fuck." Sebastian's hand was being pulled from Dave's shoulder by big, thick fingers, then shoved between them to cup Dave's dick, which was hard and insistent under Dave's slacks. "Does this feel like I'm lookin' somewhere else?"

Sebastian wanted to argue, but he didn't. He couldn't. Dave's fingers were already under the cotton of Sebastian's sleep pants, wrapping around his cock with a firm, warm grip, and if there was one thing that Sebastian was terrible at, it was saying no to sex. Especially with Dave.

" _Shit_ ," Sebastian said, voice embarrassingly rough. " _C_ ' _mon_."

Dave grinned for a second, a little smug, but it wasn't enough to snap any sense into Sebastian. Dave's hands were on Sebastian's hips, tugging the elastic of his pants down until they pooled at his feet, then sliding under Sebastian's thighs and hoisting him up, dropping him into the middle of his bed.

He did that on purpose, Sebastian knew, because Dave was well aware that Sebastian thought his strength was sexy. "You're an asshole," he told Dave, who laughed as he stripped off his slacks and jacket. He had the top button of his shirt undone when Sebastian reached up and pulled him down by the neck. "Leave it, the color suits you."

By the time they started moving together, Sebastian was almost frantic. Dave had prepped him thoroughly yet quickly, but it wasn't nearly fast enough for Sebastian, who was ready to scream if Dave didn't hurry up and fuck him. It had been ages…too long…since he'd had sex. He hadn't been with _anyone_ since Dave. He didn't fool himself that Dave had been the same, but by the time Dave was slipping on a condom, underwear around his knees and pushing slowly into Sebastian, at least he looked as desperate as Sebastian felt.

Neither of them lasted long; Sebastian was panting and his heart was hammering against his ribcage just a few strokes in. Dave was hitting that spot with every thrust; the one that made Sebastian's toes curl and sent heat sizzling right through his belly. Only minutes later Sebastian cried out against Dave's mouth and clutched desperately at his shoulder, coming in a fast, short burst over his own fist.

"Sebastian, fuck." Dave sped up; rocking in faster and deeper another dozen times before he stiffened and let out a long, low groan. His movements slowed, turned lazy and relaxed, until he stopped completely and eased onto his elbows, pressing more of his weight down on Sebastian. He pulled out carefully and peeled the condom off with a grimace, shoving it into a tissue. He grabbed another few tissues to clean up haphazardly between them then threw the little bundle into Sebastian's wastepaper basket.

When he was done, he all but collapsed onto Sebastian, leaning most of his weight to one side but draping an arm and a leg over him possessively. Sebastian would never admit to liking it, but he did, and he suspected Dave already knew.

He was still sweaty and his pulse was still easing its way back toward normal when Dave was back to mauling at his neck like a starved man. "Mmm…knew you couldn't stay mad forever."

Sebastian froze. That…that _asshole_. Every single ounce of anger came flooding back, and Sebastian shoved at Dave, hard, catching him in the stomach. The grunt of pain wasn't _nearly_ as satisfying as he'd hoped for.

"You…you piece of _shit_."

Dave's head shot up. He was still clutching at his stomach. "What the hell? What is your problem?"

"You think you can just come in here and fuck the anger outta me? Like I'm just some little plaything you can treat however you fucking want and I'll keep bending over for ya just coz it feels good? In case you forgot, I broke up with you because I'm through with your bullshit. Fuck you, Karofsky."

Sebastian was _furious_. He pulled his sleep pants back on and started shoving Dave's clothes at him. He was almost tempted to just throw them out the window and let Dave follow in his underwear and dress shirt, but somehow slamming his pants and jacket into Dave's chest was more satisfying.

"I'm not—that's not—why are you so _mad_? What the fuck did I even do? You just started acting all crazy one night and you wouldn't even fucking tell me why! Jesus, Sebastian, how am I supposed to make you happy if you're too busy being an asshole to tell me why you're mad?"

"I am _not_ the asshole here! You don't get to turn this around on me!"

"I don't even _know what this is_!" Dave yelled. He dropped his clothes to the floor and started pacing, shooting glances at Sebastian who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, glaring angrily. "At least tell me what I did! You just got real weird one day and threw your freaking drink in my face but before that we were good. So you better tell me what I did, because I ain't leavin' until you do."

Dave sat down right where he had been standing – in the middle of Sebastian's floor.

"Get up and get out."

"Not a chance."

"Fine," Sebastian hissed, switching off his lamp and getting under the covers. "Enjoy your night sitting there. I'm going to sleep. And don't even fucking _think_ about getting into this bed because I will knee you so hard your balls will _come out of your mouth_."

Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut and tried to go to sleep. He really did. But he could hear Dave breathing, and shifting occasionally like he was trying to get comfortable on the floor because he just couldn't take a hint and leave. He didn't know how long it was before he broke; it felt like forever but probably wasn't long at all.

"You ignored my birthday," he muttered, scowling in Dave's direction even though it was too dark for either of them to see. "Forgot it," he corrected, because if it had been deliberate the way Sebastian had believed when it happened, Dave wouldn't be demanding to know what he'd done. But that didn't change anything, Sebastian told himself, they were over. "It was that night. Now you know; feel free to let the window slam shut on your ass on your way out."

There was a muffled curse, then the sound of Dave moving. He didn't try to get into the bed, which Sebastian suspected was more out of self-preservation than thoughtfulness, but a hand was patting the covers until it found Sebastian's shoulder. If Sebastian focused he could just make out Dave's shape beside the bed, kneeling on the floor.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know—"

"You mean you were too busy to _care_ ," Sebastian snapped, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the way Dave squeezed his shoulder and stroked up and down Sebastian's arm.

"I cared. I _care_. Jesus, Bas, don't you know how gone on you I am? Sebastian, I—" A sharp slice of something awful stabbed at Sebastian and he tried to shrug Dave's hand off him, but it didn't work. "I wasn't too busy, okay? I mean, I was, but I was…"

"Yeah, your wheels were more important. Believe me, I got the message."

"That's _stupid_. I wasn't—it wasn't about my car, alright? I was workin' a lot and tryin' to save for you. I was…I wanted to do somethin' nice. For you. After the dance."

If Dave thought he could bullshit his way out of trouble with some story, he was wrong.

"Oh yeah?" Sebastian scoffed. "What was your plan? You buy me a burger at the diner then go for a quickie at the lookout?"

"No! I was gonna—look, it doesn't matter. It was stupid," Dave mumbled.

Sebastian snorted. "Right. Nice try, but next time you should make up a story _before_ you try to tell it. Go home."

"I'm not making anything up! But, just…you're gonna think I'm a loser."

"Too late."

Dave's hand disappeared from Sebastian's shoulder. He should have been glad, but he wasn't.

"Fine," Dave sighed. Sebastian wasn't sure, but he thought Dave was gripping the edge of the mattress, like he was nervous. "I wanted to take you out. Properly. A guy the next town over has one of those old-type horse and buggy things. I was gonna get him to take us out to the lake for a late picnic and back after. Romantic-like."

Sebastian's stomach flipped and he cursed himself silently for believing Dave, even for a second. He was being an idiot…Dave would never come up with something like that.

Except that he did, even if it was a lie. And it _had_ to be a lie, Sebastian told himself firmly.

"That's – you can't afford that," Sebastian said, quieter than he'd wanted.

"S'why I was savin' so hard and workin' all the time after class. I uh…I wanted to do somethin' special."

He sounded honest, but then again he'd sounded honest all those times he told Sebastian that he cared, and look where they ended up. Sebastian wasn't going to let himself get hurt, not again.

"So you're trying to tell me that you were trying so hard to do something special for me that you forgot my birthday?" He managed somehow to sound sharp and snide, though inside he was just sad and maybe a little disappointed. Part of him imagined what it would have been like, going to the dance with Dave, having a late night picnic with him, then coming back to Sebastian's place and— _no._ He shoved the whole fairytale aside. He was being an idiot. "Yeah, right."

Dave growled, sounding frustrated. "I didn't even know it was your birthday! But if I did…" he trailed off, and when he started speaking again, his voice just sounded sad. "I woulda tried harder to save up and do it then. Maybe I coulda used some of the money from fixin' the car and made it back later. I'm sorry. Sebastian, I—"

"Save it. It doesn't matter anymore," Sebastian interrupted. He could feel himself about to give in, but he couldn't let that happen – he'd been hurt enough. He needed to get Dave out of there before Sebastian lost his mind completely and did something stupid like _believe_ him. "Thanks, though. I was – I was almost stupid enough to think we had somethin' real. I'm glad you reminded me there's no such thing. Now get the fuck out of my house."

He refused to feel disappointed when Dave did as he was asked.

* * *

" _We have pictures of you so-called mooners. And, just because the pictures aren't of your faces, doesn't mean we can't identify you. At this very moment, those pictures are on the way to Washington, where the FBI has experts in this type of identification. If you turn yourselves in now, you may escape a federal charge."_

Sebastian snorted. Half the school knew whose asses had been broadcast across the country, but no one would be turning them in and the T-Birds certainly wouldn't fess up. Sebastian would bet anything that Principal Sylvester was bluffing. Hell, he'd eat his own mother's cooking if there really was a butt-identification expert anywhere in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Glossary**
> 
> fuzz - _police  
> _ dolly - _cute girl  
> _ all show and no go - _something that looks good but has no power and/or follow through  
> _ gone on you - _in love with you_


	8. And Greased Lightnin' Strikes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And...it's done. Part of me feels like this got tied up too quickly, but the movie had literally _no_ explanation for their relationship coming back together, so I did what I could...

Dave jumped out of the car he'd borrowed from his mother – not necessarily with her knowledge, but his was still in the shop and Blaine was on a date with Kurt, so she could just deal with it – and opened the trunk. The other T-Birds crawled out of the space as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"Come on, boys, watch your heads," Finn said.

"Hey!"

"Mike, move out!" Puck complained, giving Mike a shove. "I feel like a meatball in here."

"Whew!"

"Okay," Dave told them, "let's go find the Hotties."

"Yeah!"

Bassy was still mad at him after the other night, Dave knew, but he was hoping to sort it all out soon. He'd given Bassy some space and time to cool down, but he was sick of feeling like shit every time he thought about him and the fact that they weren't together. He wanted to go back to how they were, if Bassy would just give him the chance.

* * *

"Hey, Bas," came Sugar's voice from somewhere behind him.

Sebastian was in the women's bathroom at the drive in, ignoring the filthy looks he was getting from the girls he didn't know. He was fixing his hair, and he sure as hell wasn't going to do that in the men's room where he could bump into Dave.

"Watch it!" some girl snapped at him as he got in her way. She left before he could bite back, which was a smart move on her part.

Some of the frustration he was feeling must have shown on his face, because he could see Sugar in the mirror, looking concerned.

"What is _with_ you, tonight?" she asked, rushing up to his side.

"I feel like there's a dragon in my pants."

"Huh?"

"I'm pissing fire," he told her, sharply.

Sugar's face fell and she leaned in closer. "You think you got a VD?"

"I don't know," he muttered, trying to focus on his appearance and not the idea he could be sick, "big deal."

"Well, was it Karofsky?"

Despite how mad Sebastian was with Dave, he was twice as mad at himself because he still cared about the guy. And he couldn't bring himself to let a rumor start about Dave when Sebastian didn't even know if he had caught something from him or just had a bug.

"Nah," he lied. "You don't know the guy."

It was better for Sebastian to be the target of a fresh 'McKinley-slut' rumor, he told himself, than for fingers to be pointed at Dave as someone who gave others STDs. Besides, Sebastian was called a slut often enough that it had lost its potency.

On the other hand, he'd never caught anything before. For once, he wondered if maybe everyone was right about him.

He left the sink, heading towards the exit of the bathroom, and Sugar hurried behind him.

"Oh, hey, Bas, look, look, Bas. It's okay," she told him, reading his face better than he'd expected. "I caught Jesse St. James trying to put aspirin in my coke at the dance."

Sebastian had no idea how that made _anything_ okay, but he knew Sugar was trying to distract him and he appreciated the effort, even if it didn't actually help.

"Hey, Sugar, you ain't gonna tell nobody about this, right?" The last thing he needed was for rumors to fly before he even knew for sure.

"Oh, sure, Bas. Look, I'll take it to the grave, okay," Sugar swore. They made their way out of the bathroom and down the packed hall, Sugar getting frustrated by everyone in their way. "Coming through, coming through," she said, shoving couples aside. "C'mon, guy with the clap, make some room."

Sugar stilled, meeting Sebastian's glare with wide, sorry eyes.

Sometimes she was fucking hopeless, he thought as he stormed away.

Sebastian didn't even make it a hundred feet before Dave was approaching him, looking concerned.

"Bassy, I hear you caught somethin'."

"You do, huh?" he answered.

"Yeah."

"Boy, good news really travels fast," he told Dave sarcastically, with a pointed look at Sugar who had just caught up with them.

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Dave asked. He had a stupid look on his face, like he actually gave a shit about Sebastian, and there was nothing Sebastian wanted to see less.

"What's it to you?" Sebastian asked in a deceptively sweet tone as they moved away from Sugar. There was no real privacy, but at least she wasn't breathing down their necks.

Dave shrugged. "I thought I might be able to do something."

"You did enough!" He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth, remembering the reason he'd lied to Sugar earlier.

"I don't run away from my mistakes," Dave insisted, pressing a warm hand to Sebastian's shoulder.

Sebastian braced himself. He couldn't get over Dave while there was still a thread holding them together, and at that moment the thread was Dave and his fucking eyes and his fucking face and his fucking sweet attitude, acting like Sebastian was important to him. Sebastian didn't want to fall for that again. He'd already been hurt; no point in going back for a second serving.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Karofsky," he said, harshly. "It was somebody else's mistake."

His words hit their target dead-on. Sebastian might have been proud of that if he didn't hate himself a little for putting that look on Dave's face. He didn't look annoyed like Sebastian had expected, he looked wounded, betrayed.

"Thanks a lot, kid," Dave told him, turning his back on Sebastian and walking away slowly, head low.

Dave _did_ care, he understood suddenly. The realization felt like ice down his spine. Sebastian had spent a lot of time convincing himself otherwise, but that expression on Dave's face was real pain and it sliced through everything else. If Sebastian could take back his lie, he would, but it was too late for that and so he did the only thing he knew how to do; he made it just a little bit worse.

"Anytime."

* * *

Dave had cut it real close with getting his wheels fixed in time for Thunder Road. In fact, they had just gotten done putting the finishing touches on her the same morning he was meant to race.

But that didn't matter, because she was purring. Even Mr. Schue had been impressed with how good a job the boys had done.

"Head it out. Come on, guys," Blaine told them. He was in front of the car, encouraging them all as the other T-Birds ran alongside. Dave was driving, of course, and Mr. Schue was on the backseat as they pulled out of the shop class garage.

"Alright. Move out, move out, move out." Finn was grinning, although he also seemed to be eyeing the car critically, trying to spot anything they'd missed. Mike was making weird noises, like a bugle or trumpet introducing a king.

"Oh! Well, the crate shaped up," Mr. Schuester said as Dave coasted to a stop. "And, it's as hot as the parts on it."

"Hey, we didn't steal all of it. Some of it was donated."

Dave snorted at Puck's words, but he was confident, too. "Hey, this baby's gonna knock 'em on their ears at Thunder Road!"

"Yeah, right!" Finn sounded eager too, but then his tone completely changed. "You could still change your mind."

"The flag goes down in three hours," Mr. Schue reminded them.

"And Greased Lightnin' strikes!" Dave grinned.

"Hey, Mr. Schuester, you comin'?"

"I don't expect my boys to let me down," Mr. Schue told Mike as he hopped out of the car, "and I won't let them down."

"Alright!"

"Way to go, Schue!"

As Dave got out of the car, Blaine caught his attention. "I wanna talk to you."

"What's wrong?" Dave asked, following Blaine a few yards away so they could talk in private.

"Look, um, those guys at Thunder Road, they don't fool around. You know that, right?"

"What, y-you want me to punk out?" Dave was surprised enough that he stomped out his cigarette, even though it was only half finished. Blaine looked seriously worried.

"No, I'm not saying punking out. But, I'm—I'm just…you know what I mean. I—"

"Hey, hey, Blaine, uh... we've been friends a long time, r-right?" Dave was nervous, even though the others couldn't hear him. Blaine was his best friend, and he knew he could talk to him about anything, but this was…well, it was a big deal.

"Yeah."

"Well, you remember the, uh, the drive-in the other night?" He tried to ignore the pang he felt thinking about the conversation he'd had with Bassy – it wasn't the time for that. He had to focus on getting this out, he could think about Bassy later. "We went, and, and the movie, and there was like the duel, and the guy's best friend went with him, and, and, and, like, uh, was his, like, his lieutenant, like a second, you know?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, uh..." Dave hesitated, found himself clutching at his own collar and staring at the ground as he continued. "I thought that you could maybe be my second at Thunder Road.

"What do you mean? You want, you want me to drive with you, or, or what?" Blaine sounded confused, like he just wasn't getting what Dave was trying to say.

"No, I..." Dave looked up at Blaine and met his eyes with a hopeful look. He didn't know how else to say it.

"Oh," Blaine let out a little laugh, like he finally got it. "Hey!" He reached out and smacked Dave on the shoulder with a grin. Dave grinned right back.

"Hey!" He jabbed a little at Blaine's stomach, and they ended up play fighting for a few seconds before it turned into a hug. Half a second later, when they realized where they were, and that they weren't alone or kids anymore, Dave and Blaine pulled apart, both falling back onto their usual distraction of combing their hair.

"Uh, well, listen, I'll pick you up at three, huh?" Dave told him and turned, heading back toward the car.

"Yeah, right" Blaine agreed.

"Yeah," Dave mumbled. When he caught the other T-Birds watching him, he scoffed. "Hey, open up the door. What are you standing around for?" He pointed at the hood of the car. "There's a spot over there. Get the can off the front of the car, you putz!"

He started the car as Finn brushed off the side one more time. In a few hours, he'd be on Thunder Road.

* * *

Sebastian was in the school hall, contemplating tearing down a poster proclaiming, 'Quinn Fabray for Carnival Queen', and trying to ignore the excited gossip about Dave racing at Thunder Road when Kurt stopped to speak to him.

"Oh, hello, Bas. Are you going to Thunder Road?"

"Not a chance," he snorted. Part of him wanted to, just to see Dave and maybe speak to him, but Sebastian knew he'd just be a distraction, that they'd probably just argue anyway. And besides, she might be the leader of the Scorpions, but Santana was a friend to him, too.

The other Pink Hotties were going, Sebastian knew, but he hadn't expected Kurt of all people to be interested in an illegal car race.

"I've got to go," Kurt explained. He must have seen the look on Sebastian's face. "I have to talk to Blaine."

"Unless you've got wheels and a motor, he won't know you're alive," Sebastian snorted.

"Listen, Bassy, I know that we haven't been the best of friends, but if there's anything I can do..."

"Oh, I can take care of myself, and anything else that comes along," he told Kurt. "You think I don't know what people are saying about me?"

Kurt turned to leave, looking a little sad, and Sebastian felt guilty. Kurt had been right, they hadn't been close, but maybe Sebastian hadn't given him enough of a chance, because Kurt seemed to sincerely care. Not too many people did.

"Hey," he called out, while Kurt could still hear him. "Thanks."

Sebastian offered Kurt a smile. It was a little awkward, but it was genuine, and Kurt smiled back before he left. It felt like a tentative step towards friendship.

When Kurt was gone, Sebastian looked across the grounds, to where he could see Dave messing with his car. It looked impressive, like a whole new car to the one he'd bought when school had started back up. Sebastian felt particularly morose; couldn't help but wonder if the car represented what they could have been. Maybe he and Dave, both a little damaged and needing a little work, could have fixed each other and fine-tuned their relationship until they were shiny and strong. Perhaps they could have, if Sebastian had been more willing to be fixed, or if Dave had been more upfront.

He still had Dave's ring. Sebastian couldn't decide whether to return it, or keep it somewhere safe and pretend he'd lost it if Dave ever asked for it back.

A group of girls passed him and Quinn fucking Fabray told them in nothing close to a whisper, "That's the one I was telling you about."

She hurried away with her little flock of sheep and Sebastian glared. There were worse things he could do, he figured, than have a little fun and get a little lucky. The neighborhood might think Sebastian was trashy and no good, but at least he wasn't a tease or a user.

And yeah, maybe he could be a bit more reserved, a little more respectable, but why? So he could waste his life waiting for a dream that might never come true and spend every night frustrated and taking cold showers?

At least he wasn't like the Quinn Fabrays of the world; fake and hypocritical. And he didn't deliberately hurt others just because he was feeling spiteful or jealous.

Except that sometimes he did, he realized as he watched Dave. Sebastian wasn't heartless – he often tried to deny his feelings, but that didn't mean he didn't have them. He wanted to fix things, but he didn't know how. He would talk to Dave eventually, when he knew he could be calm and honest, instead of stupidly emotional and full of tears. None of his friends had ever seen Sebastian cry – probably didn't think he was capable of it – and he wasn't going to start in front of Dave. Because that would be awful; the worst thing he could imagine, really.

* * *

When Dave and Blaine pulled up at the meeting point with the other T-Birds and half the Hotties following them, Lopez was already there with her Scorpion goons and had Brittany hanging off her shoulder.

"So, you guys think you got a winner there, huh?" Lopez smirked.

"That's right," he told her.

"Yeah, well, it takes more than a coat of paint to make it at Thunder Road."

"Oh, yeah?" He winced at his lame reply and almost wished Bassy was there; he always had a sharp retort and a fiery expression. But Dave suspected that if Bassy had been there, he'd be on the other side. Lopez was apparently Bas' _friend_ somehow, and last time Dave and Bassy had spoken, Bassy made it clear that what they used to have meant nothing to him.

"You guys ain't thinkin' about changing your mind, are ya?" Lopez smirked. Dave wanted to wipe that smirk right off her face.

"No way!"

"Good, 'cos we're racing for pinks."

Dave had expected that. It didn't happen in every race, but it wasn't uncommon either. And there was bad blood between him and Lopez, so he wasn't surprised.

"Pinks?" Blaine sounded confused.

"Pinks, you punk!" Lopez snapped at Blaine. "Pink slips! Ownership papers!"

"Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" Blaine was heading towards Lopez with a clenched fist, and Dave had to stop him before anything got out of hand. Blaine could take Lopez, maybe, but she fought dirty and there were more Scorpions there than T-Birds and Hotties.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Dave said, trying to calm Blaine down while Lopez laughed and taunted them. "Now, don't you worry about it. I'll take care of it, alright?"

Dave wasn't sure exactly what happened after that. He remembered speaking to Mr. Schue, almost ready to race, and Sugar offering him a lucky penny. She'd dropped it, and he went to pick it up, then his head was screaming at him and Blaine – two Blaines? – were asking if he was okay.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm fine." He tried to sit up and the world shifted under him. "Oh, God."

Someone was saying he couldn't drive, and Dave knew that was bad. They were…somewhere. Somewhere important and he had to drive. "Hey, no, really, I'm, I'm all right," he insisted. Then Blaine was in front of him again, and another Blaine was sort of to the left and he started to giggle. "I, I'm, I'm just seeing two of you, man!"

"Hey, hey, you want me to drive for you? Huh?"

Dave was still confused, but he remembered something about a movie? And a duel…and someone as a second and it sounded like that was probably a really good idea. "Yeah. Yeah."

"Alright. C'mon, let's help him up."

And then there were hands on him, moving him out of the way. He was still dizzy after the race started – his race, he realized – but he couldn't help himself; when the others got excited and rushed up the steep walls, so did he. He made his way up to sit where he could get a good view, near the other T-Birds and the Hotties. "Go, Blaine!"

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" Rachel was shouting, jumping up and down in excitement. When the Scorpions started hurling insults, she was the first one screaming right back at them. "Your mother!"

His car was looking a little worse for wear, but Dave was cheering loudly, despite the throbbing in his head and the urge to be sick.

The race was so close; the cars were trading places quickly and often. It wasn't until they had to cross through a wet area that Blaine pulled into a proper lead. He'd shot the car over the water using a small incline as a jump, but Lopez had to break hard in the water and slid out, her car stalling. The Scorpions rushed over to her, but Dave couldn't care less about them. He ran over with the T-Birds and the Hotties, crushing Blaine in hugs and cheering at him. Finn and Puck were singing, and Dave was grinning so hard he didn't even care that he maybe had a mild concussion.

* * *

" _Attention, seniors. Before the merriment of commencement commences, I hope that your years with us here at McKinley High have prepared you for the challenges you face. Who knows, among you there may be a future Eleanor Roosevelt, or a Rosemary Clooney."_

Sebastian smiled. He may not want to be Rosemary Clooney, in particular, but he could see himself as a singer. Of course, before he focused on his far future, he should probably think about his more immediate problem. He should speak to Dave. Preferably before they graduated.

" _And among you young men, there may be a Joe DiMaggio, a President Eisenhower, or even a Vice President Nixon. But always you will have the glorious memories of McKinley High. McKinley forever. Bon voyage."_

* * *

_Karofsky,_

_I know we've had our issues, and that we've both been jerks. I don't know if you still care about me, but I still care about you even though I'm not good at showing it. For a while I thought you never cared at all. That's no excuse, but it's the reason I started acting like such an asshole – that, and the fact that I AM an asshole._

_You're kind of an asshole too, but we fit. Or, we did._

_I can't usually admit when I'm wrong, but I'm admitting it now. I need to apologize because there were a lot of things I did and said that I shouldn't have._

_A lot of the time I think there's no such thing as love and romance, but then there's you, and you make me wonder if I'm wrong about that, too. I'm writing you this letter because I think that if anyone can prove me wrong, you can. And because I don't know if I can say this to you in person._

_Anyway, I'm sorry for my part in all the bad shit. And since you already told me you were sorry, maybe that makes us even?_

_I'll be at the carnival this afternoon. If you want to try and fix things, come and find me. If you don't, well, I'll understand._

_Sebastian_

* * *

Dave read the crumpled letter in his hand for the fourth time in the last half hour. He'd found it on top of his things in his locker when he went to empty it. The paper looked like it had been through a battle, which was a weird contrast to the perfect penmanship and the words that seemed very carefully written.

But the paper itself…it had already looked a little messed up when he first unfolded it, like maybe Bassy had been about to throw it out then changed his mind again and decided to give it to Dave after all. In fact, it even looked like it had been a little squashed after it had been folded, as if Bassy had shoved it quickly and roughly through the vents of Dave's locker before he could change his mind again, instead of slipping it through carefully.

Dave wasn't sure if that meant Bas had been uncertain that he meant what he'd written, or had just been fighting his own nature to be honest and make a move to fix things.

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Dave was fairly sure it was the second one. He was convinced once he spotted Bassy on the Ferris wheel, looking down at him with bright eyes and a hopeful expression on his face.

He grinned at Bassy for a moment, before he realized that Bassy was _on a Ferris wheel._ He didn't actually know what Bassy had caught, but Dave figured that dizziness and nausea were symptoms of just about everything, weren't they? And if Bassy was sick, he should probably be on the ground instead of up high and moving in circles, _fuck_.

"Bassy! Hey, Bassy!" he yelled. "Get off of that thing in your condition!"

"Forget it, it was a false alarm!" Bassy called out, leaning forward while Rachel sat looking worried beside him.

"What?"

"I'm clean!"

That was…that was fantastic. But even better was the fact that Bassy was smiling at him, was even laughing.

He cheered, rushing towards the Ferris wheel, where Bas was still stuck behind the safety rail but was grinning up at him just like…like he used to. And maybe they still had things to talk about, but Dave had missed Bassy so much; he'd take what he could get, at least until they had a little time alone to figure things out.

"Ya know, I'da stuck right by you," he offered. "Still would."

"Listen, fella," Bassy told him as he hopped out of the seat and headed right for Dave, "if this is a line, I ain't biting."

Dave grabbed Bassy by the shoulders. Bassy had been an asshole before, but so had Dave. Dave should have fought back, should have tried harder instead of letting go. He didn't want to make that mistake again. "That's a bona fide offer."

He leaned in close to Bassy, who was smiling. "Well, it ain't moonlight and roses, but..."

Bassy grinned and looped his arms around Dave's neck, so Dave pulled him in for a kiss. Bassy was pressing in tight against him and tugging at his hair just the way Dave loved. He didn't want to let go, but eventually the guy monitoring the ride shooed them away, and Dave glanced around to see that Rachel had wandered off.

* * *

After they'd left the Ferris wheel, Sebastian dragged Dave around to the back of the House of Mirrors. They weren't really alone, people kept pouring out of the rear exit, but at least no one was trying to chase them away.

Dave was sitting on a chair that he'd snagged from one of the unsuspecting attendants they'd passed, and Sebastian was sitting on his lap, straddling his legs so they were facing each other with their chests and hips in close.

They kissed again, and again, but eventually Sebastian knew he had to say something.

"Either you got my note or you have excellent timing."

Dave shook his head with a little smile. "I got it. But I dunno if I'd call it a note…more like a book."

He was teasing, but his expression was good natured, so when Sebastian smacked his arm he didn't put any strength behind it. "You're an asshole."

"Yeah, well I ain't the only one."

Sebastian hesitated. He couldn't apologize again, not face to face…he could admit to himself he was too proud for it, and maybe too embarrassed. But there was something else he needed to come clean about. "Listen…about that night at the drive in. What I said—"

"You don't gotta explain, okay?" Dave squeezed Sebastian's waist just enough to be reassuring. "We weren't together…you coulda slept with every guy at McKinley and it woulda been none of my business. But…can we not talk about that? I mean, we're back together, right? Just us again…so anyone else doesn't matter."

"Yeah, except that he didn't even exist, okay? I lied."

Dave frowned. "Why?"

"I already lied about it to Sugar because… I didn't want people to think it was your fault. And then I lied to you because I'd _already_ lied to Sugar, and I didn't think you'd actually care."

"You're an idiot."

"And you're such a sweet talker, Karofsky."

"Wiseass," Dave said, biting down on Sebastian's jaw, playfully. "And why do you still call me that? Why don't you ever call me Dave?"

"Everyone calls you that," Sebastian answered, tilting his head back when Dave started sucking another hickey into his neck. He grinned as another group of classmates passed them, looking scandalized.

"Since when are you everyone?" Dave asked against Sebastian's skin. Sebastian shrugged, and Dave pulled back, looking him right in the eye.

"You uh…you still call me Bassy."

"Not _all_ the time."

Sebastian smirked, because that was true. Dave had gotten very good at calling Sebastian by his real name when things were heating up. "So you want me to call you Dave when we're gettin' heavy?"

Dave mumbled something that Sebastian didn't quite catch. When he just stared at Dave with a raised eyebrow, Dave sighed and spoke more clearly. "Maybe…maybe not _just_ then?"

"You want me to call you Dave all the time?" Sebastian was surprised; he'd never heard _anyone_ call Dave by his first name.

Dave shrugged. "My friends call me Karofsky. You're not—you're more than that."

It shouldn't have made his heart leap and his stomach swoop, but it did, and Sebastian suddenly felt self-conscious over it. He'd stopped thinking of Dave as 'Karofsky' months earlier, being asked to call him Dave shouldn't have been a big deal, but it felt like it was. "C'mon, Dave. Let's go find the others."

He knew it was abrupt, but he punctuated it with a kiss and Dave was still smiling, so he considered it a successful diversion. Sebastian climbed off Dave's lap and gave him a hand up. Not that he needed it, but Sebastian was feeling…well…a little handsy.

They started walking towards the Shake Shack, where Sebastian could see the others laughing with each other. Dave stopped, pulling Sebastian to a stop too, before they got too close.

"So should I ask if you still got my ring at home? Or should I just assume it's in at the bottom of some landfill and get a new one to put on ya?"

Sebastian didn't blush, or at least, he refused to acknowledge it and Dave was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Dave's slightly battered but well-loved ring. "I thought about throwing it out like a dozen times, but I never got that far," he said, feeling a little sheepish, but Dave just grinned and plucked it out of his hand, sliding it onto Sebastian's finger.

Dave kissed him, but it only lasted for a second before Rachel was there, grabbing onto Sebastian's hand excitedly and tugging them toward the group. They were right behind the strength tester, where the others had gathered, when Sebastian noticed Kurt in all black, looking more like a Hottie than ever before and actually, looking more like one of the T-Birds than anything else. "Huh."

He glanced at Dave, who looked just as surprised as Sebastian was. But it only lasted a moment before Dave shook his head and grinned at Sebastian.

"Hey, everybody! Bassy and Karofsky made up!" Rachel was so excited for them. Everyone was and Dave took the opportunity to kiss Sebastian again; not that Sebastian minded as he was pressed against the strength test pole. "Oh, look!" Rachel added happily. "All the gang's together!"

"But, what are we gonna do after graduation?" Sugar asked, looking worried.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll never see each other again," Tina said, chewing on her lip.

"Nah, that'll never happen," Blaine told her.

Puck seemed even more concerned than the girls had. "How do you know?"

Sebastian ignored him in favor of pulling Dave into another kiss. He wasn't even sure why they were still there, when they could be somewhere else, doing more interesting things.

"What do you mean, how do I know?" he heard Blaine say, followed by the game bell chiming loudly. Sebastian glared at them, startled, but he couldn't help grinning, especially once he saw Puck sitting, surprised, on the game target.

Everyone was cheering, and Blaine was right; that would never happen. They'd never let each other just disappear after graduation.

Sebastian watched as the rest of the group ran around excitedly. He was content to lean into Dave and just enjoy the rest of the day. No matter what happened, the group would always be friends and would always remember each other. They all had each other, and everything else would sort itself out.


End file.
